Pills
by Hotaru-Naichingeru
Summary: Mion, after being forced to shut down the club, falls into drugs and depression, hanging with the wrong crowd. Can her friends ever help her out! WARNING: Drugs and Adult themes, read at your own risk. Rated T, KeiiMii.
1. Chapter 1

Authors note: HALLO! I first heard about this drug in a Drug Course at my school. So I decided to do a 5-shot! This may be long, but I want to explain the four drugs used, so you understand why you shouldn't take them. I've never had any; so don't ask me for supplies and/or what it felt like. I'm just guessing. I do not own anything yadada. Please read the list, enjoy, and review! (I am in no way telling you to take these drugs, just read my fanfic.) ((Got the side effects from Wikipedia, do not own.))

Ecstasy- this drug causes you to— (In use)

Have an altered consciousness.

Inner-peace and self-acceptance

Be lest hostile or jealous.

Diminished fear, anxiety, and insecurity.

Mood lift

More forgiveness

Love

More self-confidence

Abel to talk about more anxiety-producing subjects.

Increased senses

And some other things I forgot.

Before you think it's great, Side affects include, (After use)-

Anxiety and paranoia

Depression

Irritability

Fatigue

Impaired focus

Emotional sensitivity.

Loss of appetite

Insomnia

Aches and pains

Dizziness

And also some others.

Next drug on the world's longest authors note that could be considered a prologue with no story and only lists-

Next one is over the counter painkillers, misused.

You guys probably know what they do, so I won't really have to explain. She's using the pill form.

And because you need something to swallow those pills, Alcohol.

You begin to get a dependency.

Numbs the feelings of pain

Aggressiveness

Heart, Brain, And Liver Disease

Schizophrenia

Impulsive disorders

Bipolar disorder

Finally, the fourth one will not be a drug, but it will be a surprise. Please read on to find out why this all happened!

Being the heir to the Sonozaki family wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Her grades were slipping in school, as usual, and batcha had decided it was time to tell her to improve her grades. Mion was starting to get tension headaches from stress, and she was always feeling tired. She couldn't tell her twin, Shion, about her problems. And as club leader, she couldn't let that happen.

The math homework was giving her a real pain right now. She wished she had a painkiller right now, the headache was killing her. Keiichi was busy on something else, so she didn't feel like bothering her. And since Shion was no better than her, she couldn't ask her sister for any help. The headache was starting to get to her. Raising her left hand, Chie-sensei looked up form a book on 100 different ways to spice curry.

"Yes Mion-san?" She walked over to the green-haired teenager.

"Chie-sensei," She was being extremely polite, knowing it would be the only way to stop the terrible headache. "You never really explained this problem to us. Could you go over it once more? It's hard to understand." This buttered her teacher up enough so that she couldn't resist.

"Alright, you divide X by 12, then multiply this number by your quotient to get the product." It was starting to make sense, so as the teacher walked away she tried it out. "Shi-chan, Did you hear?" Her sister looked up. "No. Besides why are you trying? I thought your motto was to enjoy being a teen?"

"Well Batcha said that if I'm going to be heiress, I'd better pick up on my work and do something right for once." Her twin nodded, then went back to work. Keiichi, having overheard, looked over. "Wait, you're actually TRYING!" A look of shock crossed his face, nearly giving him a heart attack.

"Yeah, now shut up." She went back to the problem, feeling confident in her answers. After 1 more minuets, she walked up to the desk and put the sheet in the grading box. Smiling, she began to hum to herself, waiting for results. A little while later the teacher walked over.

"Good job." She smiled showing her the sheet. 76% was written at the top, one of her highest grades yet. Smiling, she grabbed the next sheet, earning a 78. She was happy her grades were finally climbing a bit. She was then told to do some creative writing on a city she'd want to visit. Pulling out some atlases, there were the top 10 biggest cities in the world. One, called New York, jumped off the page. She looked up some more info on it, and then began to write. Keiichi, trying to get in between Shion and Mion's desks, saw her trying to write about a city in America.

"Why would you even want to go there? I hated living in the city, it's dirty." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Because Mr. City, I've only been here and Okinawa. And I want to go places. So please shut up unless you're going to help, 'Cause this old mans busy working." She continued to write, leaving a stunned Keiichi.

'Is this even possible!' He decided it would be for the better and went to do some math. The end of the day passed by quickly, and it was time for club activities. Mion opened her locker, and pulled out a board game.

"This one's fun, and I think Kei-chan will be familiar with it." The game, in English, said Ghettopoly. (Yes, it's real. Look it up.)

"But Mii-chan," satoko complained, "It's in English!"

Mion was pulling out the board, with parts like Crack Houses and Liquor stores. Rika was diving for the basketball piece. "So cute! I want to take it home!" Rika had to say Nipah to get Rena to stop crushing the metal piece, and was nearly chocked.

Finally answering the question, She tossed the money to keiichi. "That's why Kei-chan will do it. He's fluent. And besides, for once he could win!"

"Hey!" The brown-haired boy replied. And the game began. Mion felt herself wanting to use the 40 oz bottle of liquor, leaving Rika a tiny bit upset. Keiichi was reaching for the pimp piece, and after a scuffle with Shion, won.

It was an intense 2-hour battle, and in the end Mion lost and keiichi, for once, won. He nearly had an aneurysm for happiness, and quickly pulled out the skimpiest maid outfit in Mion's overstuffed locker. It was pink, with barely any fabric. If you really wanted to be sadistic to the loser, it was the way to go.

She sighed, grabbed the skimpy outfit, and stalked off to the girl's bathroom. "YOU have to wear it home!" He called in the world's most annoying voice he could manage. Walking out, Mion had a VERY pissed-off look on her face. Rena went into take it home mode and tried to hug her. When Keiichi saw it he nearly had a nosebleed. Not only were her assets the size of grapefruits, but also there was no stomach to the outfit, just four straps. Keiichi and Rena fell over from simultaneous nosebleeds as Mion grabbed her bags and left, muttering a fast goodbye, Shion close behind.

As they neared home Mion walked over to the torture chamber area of the Sonozaki Mansion, quickly changing in one of the cells. Batcha would throw a fit if she saw her wearing THAT outfit. After grabbing some snacks form the kitchen, the two girls began their homework. Mion was concentrating on a very hard problem, figuring it out and trying to get the correct answer. Feeling confident of her 5th try of 42, she moved on, about ¾ of the way done.

Halfway through some grammar work Mion was called to meet with her grandmother in the reception room of the Main House. She was feeling good about her rising grades, but her grandmother's expression was different.

"Yes Batcha?" She said, sitting on one of the traditional cushions and facing her grandmother expectantly. She hoped the conversation was about her rising grades.

"Mion-chan, It pleases me that your grades are rising at such a fast rate," Her expression was grumpy as usual, but that was Batcha for you. "But," Mion couldn't stop the dread filling up in her stomach, knotting together until it hurt, "I think that silly club of yours is taking away valuable studying time. I'd like it if you could stop going."

Rage swelled. The club was the most important thing about school to her! It had protected Satoshi and Satoko, and made everyone friends. 'You can't just take it away!' Mion thought. But, she knew what the consequences were for disobedience.

"Yes Batcha, whatever you think is best." She bowed and left, wanting to punch a wall out. Her mother wouldn't have told her to stop the club, but she had no power. Batcha hated her for marrying an outsider. Running to her shared room with Shion, she wanted to burst into tears. Her green-haired twin looked alarmed at the sorry state the stronger of the two was in.

Shion waited until Mion had stopped crying to ask the question pressing on her mind. "Does this have to do with the club?" Mion could only nod, chocked up from crying. Her eyes were now red rimmed and watery, and she had to take deep breaths to get any air in. She loved that club, and not just for being leader. All her friends were there, and it was one of the only times they could really have fun. A while later she was able to finally finish her homework and tried to take her mind off the depressing subject. But nothing was making her feel better. She decided to go see Oishi at the police station, catch up on things. But as she neared, someone ran past, handcuffs clinking.

"Get him! That's the drug dealer!" Burly Oishi, with a few deputies at his side, ran after the man. Mion decided to sit in the station and not get in the way, until she saw a bag labeled Ecstasy, with a smiley face underneath. All the pills had smiley faces on them. Deciding it wasn't the best idea to hang around a police officer with drugs you just _found, _She began to walk home, shooting the officers a smile as she passed by them on the dirt road. You'd never guess she'd hidden a bag of pills in her sweaters hoodie.

Deciding to tell everyone tomorrow, she began to trot back home, wondering what those pills could do. 'If they kill me, who'd care? The clubs won't even exist after tomorrow. She began to feel the depression come on, stronger than before. It made her chest hurt, her eyes water. Waiting until after dinner, she said she wanted to go for a walk, bringing some water with her to make the pills go down.

She walked until she hit the woods, and then found a clearing with a rock at the north end, the river rushing by on the west. It was so peaceful she decided to stay there and take the pills on the rock. The cicadas were loud, but peaceful. As she popped one of the pills into her mouth, taking a swig of water. Waiting, she began to feel happier, the cicada's sounds turning into an unnamable song, soft and sweet. She got up, swirling in a circle and humming to the cicada's chorus. She was so happy!

Mion felt her guard go down, more trusting of the woods and darkness. She just wanted to dance, her heart rate rising with the cicada's calls. She lost sense of time, in her happy world. I could feel more with my feet, and an unnoticed breeze felt like a fan. After about 4 hours she felt like she could explode form happiness!

But 2 hours later, after calming down, depression came. She wanted to leave, not wanting to taint the pretty clearing with her ugly thoughts. As she walked home, her dark thoughts turned darker, and anxiety came. What if they found out? What would her friends, or Keiichi, think? They'd probably leave. By the time she got back the knot in her stomach was worse, her chest felt hot, and it made her sick. Batcha was mad she'd left, nearly dragging her to the punishment chamber.

"You'll only leave this house for school for the rest of the month! I can't believe you!" She was too depressed to care, and after a few half-hearted "I'm sorry," And "It won't happen again, she went to bed. Shion was already out, so she couldn't tell her. She hid the drugs in a false bottom in the floor that only she knew about. After 20 minuets, she fell into a fidgety and nightmare-filled sleep.

Damn! 5 Pages! I hope the rest of the chapters are longer. Sorry if I seem mean to her, but the negative effects must be done next to the positive. (As if there are any.) At least she's studying. And fluff comes later. Lets see how she breaks the news to the club! R and R PLEASE! I NEED REVEIWS!


	2. Chapter 2: Highs and Lows

HELLO! I really hope you guys aren't mad at me for the drugs. And remember, MION'S LIFE WILL GET WORSE! (**Collective gasp.)** Also, please review. And thanks for reading! P.S., swearing in this chapter. You have been warned!

Chapter 2: Highs, Lows

Mion could barely get up the next morning. She was so tired! Her sleep had done no good. It actually made her more tried! She groggily put on her clothes as Shion grabbed hers. Walking to the bridge, Rena had to poke her to get her to say hello. This caused her blood to boil.

"Mii-chan, You seem upset! Is something wrong, wrong?" Mion put on a forced smile and laughed nervously.

"No, nothings wrong. Why would you think that! Everything's perfectly fine! Ah ha ha!" Rena shot her friend an odd look. 'Mion's hiding something, and Rena wants to know!' Just then a familiar male voice called hello.

"Hi Mion-chan, Hi Rena-chan!" Keiichi walked over, his small book bag slung over his shoulder in a relaxed way. His purple eyes twinkled mischievously, as if he had something planned. Mion ignored the mindless chatter as they walked along, just wanting to get the day over with. A hand waving in front of her face snapped her out of her thoughts.

"What!" She snapped. Her temper flared. Keiichi was there with a shocked expression, as if she'd just slapped him or told him she was a boy.

"Alright, sorry for snapping you out of your thoughts but were here." He pointed to the door, and forgetting the usual routine, Mion stormed into the classroom first. Just as she walked inside, a huge bag full of erasers flew towards her and hit her in the side of the side of the head. The stunning blow sent her flying, and she slammed into a nearby desk.

Satoko, realizing whom she just hit, ran over to Mion, who was clutching her head. "Mion-chan! Mion-chan! Are you okay! Sorry!" Worry filled her tone, and she felt regretful. Normally the stupid peasant fell for the traps, not the club leader. A hand suddenly reached out, giving Satoko a very hard slap across the face. It stunned the blonde, who was about to burst into tears.

"You stupid brat! You hit me in the F**king head!" Satoko looked like she was going to make her lip bleed from how hard she was biting it. Mion's face was twisted with rage, getting up and trying to grab a table. Shion and Keiichi, realizing what was going on, went and grabbed her arms. And it took both their combined strengths to hold her back from beating the girl's head in with a desk. Satoko could feel tears pricking at her eyes.

"Mion! Clam down! What's the problem!" Keiichi could feel the anger pouring out of Mion. Satoko ran off, fear in her face. Rika, having just walked in with Hanyuu, saw the whole mess. After getting Chie-sensei to come control the situation, the teacher sent everyone to his or her desks. Mion, snapping back to her senses and realizing what she nearly did to her friend, could her temper drop like a doused flame and sink down to a worse level. She felt bad now, and it was giving her a headache. This made it impossible to do much of her work correctly.

Plus it was nearly impossible to concentrate from all the worried looks she got, and the highest grade she got that day was a 57. Chie-sensei wanted to see her after school to talk about her attitude, which made her feel like while everyone waited for the club. When she came back, her spirits had sunk even lower, remembering she had to be the bearer of bad news about their favorite activity.

"Everyone, I can't do the club anymore. So just do whatever, I need to go home." Stunned silence filled the room as their leader turned around and ran off. Rika was the first to speak, her tone upset.

"Why can't Mii-chan help?" Shion looked down and explained, her voice getting soft near the end until no one could make out the words.

"Well, Onee was upset because Batcha said she would have to cancel club and focus on studying for her grades to improve. After dinner she disappeared for about 8 hours, and when she got home I could hear a shouting match happen with batcha. She normally doesn't act out like that. I think something's wrong." Shion looked like she could burst into tears for her twin.

Luckily Rena took over the conversation. "I think we should try and give her space. It's probably very stressful, very stressful." Rika nodded in agreement. In all of the other worlds before they'd shattered Fate, this never happened. Pushing those thoughts to the side, she decided that the conversation was going nowhere fast.

"Well, it would be mean be mean to Mii-chan to hold club without her, so I think we ought to go home." Nodding in agreement, the club members went their separate ways, all brooding. Shion was especially sad for her sister's predicament. Despite that, she was kinda glad that their mix-up had kept her from all that stress.

But with Mion, it wasn't okay. She could barely concentrate on the designated math sheet, the numbers muddled in her head, and her writing was jumbled and impossible to understand. Crumpling up her 3rd piece of paper and sighing in frustration, She longingly looked at the floorboard where the bag was hidden. Deciding to count how many pills were there, she was dismayed. Only 15 little happy faces. They were mocking her, saying that they could only do so much for her predicament. Putting them back, she wanted to cry. But a plan was forming in her head.

The rest of the day passed by slowly, making her more and more anxious and nervous as it neared the time for everyone to sleep. As soon as Shion was out cold, she grabbed the pills and left out a window, watching her step. She ran to the clearing, taking in the scene. The river was bathed in a soft hue from the moon overhead, and the cicadas weren't ear piercingly loud. Taking another pill, the waves came on again.

Building up with pleasure, she hummed to herself and spun around, feeling much better with every turn. The cicadas seemed to hum along with their chorus, and she began to feel amazing. All her problems seemed unimportant at the moment, but she began to come off her high. But as her emotions ebbed like a tide, they sunk even lower. She remembered slapping Satoko, snapping a Keiichi, canceling club, and the fight with Batcha the day before. It all made her feel sick to her stomach, and she began to feel vomit come up her throat. Running to a bush, she felt better once everything came up.

Going home, she brushed her mouth until the taste left her tongue, which nearly made it raw. As she slipped into the room and tried to sleep, she couldn't shut her eyes. It took an hour to figure this out as the clock hit 4 A.M. that she had insomnia. Getting up, she tried to finish the last bit of her page, and just guessed all the answers. After a while Shion woke up, bleary eyed and yawing. "Morning Mion. Why are you up so early?"

She did a fake smile so her sister wouldn't worry. "Oh, I just had a bit of homework I wanted to finish. How did you sleep?" She had a forced expression on her face, but Shion was too tired to care.

"Five more minuets an-" Shion fell back on the futon, asleep. Mion breathed a sigh of relief, then put away her math sheets. Putting on her school clothes, Mion grabbed her bag and left early. She didn't want to face any of her friends at the mill, so she left very early and waited for the doors to open. For what seemed around 45 minuets after she came, Chie-sensei walked over.

"Hello Mion, your early. Would you mind staying quiet while I grade some important papers?" Mion nodded, but was wary of the teacher. Normally nothing bothered this woman when she was grading papers, especially when she had a "Debate" with keiichi, which normally resulted in Keiichi losing or Rena wanting to take someone home. She worked, sometimes shooting the teacher a glance. Later kids began to trickle in, rubbing their eyes tiredly. Some shot a confused glance at Mion, who looked more awake then others, albeit with bags under her eyes.

After awhile she saw Satoko come in, shooting her a worried look. She was too tired to care tough, and went back to her work. The numbers ran out her hand like water from a faucet, and she was nearly done with most of the work when a hand tapped her shoulder. Looking up, her face heated up to see Keiichi.

Shooting her a look, he muttered, "Sorry about the club. Hope you can convince your grandma to restart it soon." With that he left, making her feel even more depressed. After turning in her sheets, Chie-sensei asked her to go take care of the curry garden by weeding. Going outside with a bucket, She began to pull at the weeds that were starting to sprout. After a while of venting as she ripped at the weeds, she began to feel her throat close off with tears. Why did the weeds have to die? They were just trying to live! She could barely see with the tears forming in her eyes, and just curled up on the side of the building, starting to sob.

Luckily no one came out, but she felt like someone was watching her. After wiping her eyes and finishing the weeding, she walked back in the classroom. Hanyuu gave her a worried look, trying to see what was wrong with her green-haired friend. She just shot her a watery smile and sat down, staring into space. Everyone that saw was worried about what had happened, but she wasn't going to tell him or her. They'd just be disgusted she was doing drugs, even if they made her feel better. It felt like forever for school to end, so she ran home to get the day over with. She had almost no work, and just worked on her essay for the rest of the day.

When Shion fell asleep, she grabbed the bag, contemplating. Yes she felt crappy, but she needed to use the pills sparingly. Putting them back, she walked to the clearing where she always felt best. Taking in the peacefulness, she laid down on the cool rock. It was just the right temperature, not too hot, but warm enough to be comfortable. She could still feel the dark thoughts tearing at her mind, clamoring for attention. It made her uncomfortable, and even there she didn't feel safe. The most pressing thought was the one she didn't want to think about.

'What will I do when I run out of pills?' Even though she felt even worse after taking them, if she could escape for just a few hours, she felt better. But there was a very small supply, and it only lasted around 8 hours. 'What if I looked up how to get more? They have a few computers at school.' Jumping up, she smiled finally without the drug. "Yes, I'll get more ecstasy!" Deciding to try and sleep, her happiness quickly left.

'Wait, that drugs illegal! How can I buy it without Oishi finding out! I'll have to see if there's any way to obtain it legally or fast!' She went home, but it was either side affects or her worried thoughts that kept her up. But, she was once again awake at 4 A.M., working on her paper. Once it hit four thirty she did her morning routine of brushing her hair, grabbing some rice or other food, making lunch, brushing her teeth, and grabbing her bag. She decided not to wait at the bridge, and walking to school, waited for Chie-sensei. After asking for permission, she walked to the smallish computer room and pulled out a chair. Logging on, she Googled ecstasy. It turns out, (True fact, look it up!) that there was 60% ecstasy in urine if you took the pill. It also showed a way to harvest it, and she smiled. 'Yes! Now my supplies will last much longer! But that's still gross.'

After logging off, she walked back to the classroom, where satoko was just starting to make her trap. She shot Mion a look, which made her good mood dampen a bit. Walking over to the work bins, there were 4 math sheets and a packet waiting, with a box of watercolors. 'I think relax first, then math. I mean, it _is_ at the top of the pile.' Waling back to her desk, she decided to try and paint… she couldn't think of a single thing to do.

Getting frustrated, she remembered all the pills, and how each one had a happy face on it, and started to dip hr brush in the yellow. After a fairly round circle was drawn, she began to do two black eyes and a smile. Satisfied, she walked over to the teacher and handed the drawing over. Chie-sensei smiled, and scribbled a B on it. Walking back, she began math, and tried to figure out a very hard problem. It sucked, but she was able to make an almost correct answer that was just one tens place off.

Shion shot her a look, thinking maybe her twin was out of character today, a little too hard-working. 'But it's better than normal!' Shion thought to herself. Smiling, she continued her essay on flowers and what her favorite one was. But Mion still felt crappy on the inside, and felt worse when she remembered no more club. Going home, she finished the last bit of her essay and read it over. I want to go to New York because…

She was satisfied with the results, and walked over to her twin. "Hey Shion, could you proofread this?" The other green-haired girl looked up from her magazine, and snatched up the paper, reading it over. "I like how you did it! But you may need to fix a bit of your grammar." Mion nodded, and went back to the spot where she was working.

'Maybe I won't take the pills today.' After that thought she put her essay in one of those plastic folders with the sliding binder tab. She got ready for dinner, and then walked down the hallway with her sister. It was a pleasant conversation, swapping stories and chatter. But Batcha, mood killer she could be, stated, "Did anyone hear of the drug-dealer caught near the bridge? He had a block of Marijuana hidden under his shirt." Everyone went silent. No one in Hinamizawa ever did drugs, due to Oishi's sharp eyes.

Well, almost everyone. Mion could barely eat her food after that.

# # # # # # # # # # # # Well, thank you for reading! I'd like to thank birdy1564 and Sergeant Daniel for reviewing! And Sergeant Daniel, she took the drug so fast because it said "Happy Pills," and she really needed to be cheered up. But I guess it's different for everyone. Thanks!


	3. OOP Out of Pills

Hallo! I'd like to thank all your reviewers for liking this story. It's fun to write, but please remember. Most of this stuff is dangerous, so you must leave it alone. And I bet some of you reviewers are going, "Nachingeru, this is Keii-Mii, but all I see is their normal relationship form the anime, no fluff!" Well, wonderers, the fluff comes after all this. But first, she needs to hit rock bottom. Don't worry! And thank you! Read and review!

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2 weeks later

Mion had run out of pills! She looked desperately at the bag, tears pricking at her eyes. Her stomach knotted with worry, and she felt sick. But, there was nothing she could do. Safely stowing the bag in the trash, at the very bottom, she got ready for school. Her feet were like lead, and they felt so heavy she was surprised she could even walk. She had decided people were getting suspicious of her going so early to school, so she started to walk with her friends again just the week before.

Keiichi shot her a worried look as he walked over to them at the mill. He'd been giving her that look a lot lately, or so it seemed. 'Something's wrong with her, I can just tell.' His thoughts were forced to go to the back of his mind as they approached school, the walk stony silent the whole time. A few more days were like that, rubbing at his nerves, driving him insane. Yes, the club had been fun, but it was just games and the punishments, nothing else.

Halfway through a walk on the way home he just snapped. Why couldn't she just snap out of the stupid funk she was in about the club?

Whipping around to look at her, he let it rip, even though normally he could deal with all of his female friends drama. "Mion." She looked up, with an unreadable expression on her face. "Could you stop with that stupid funk of yours? If it's about the club, it was just games, and god knows how many you freaking have. It's really starting to get on everyone's nerves." A look crossed her face of complete and utter shock. Then others, like betrayal flashed, until she looked downright pissed.

Lifting up her bag, she hit him round side the head so hard he was knocked over. "You. Do. Not. Understand." Her words were laced with venom, nearly stopping his heart. Then, as fast as the attack came, she was gone, running down the path until he could barely see her. Keiichi knew the blow would leave a mark, so he checked the damage as he walked home. The swelling of his cheek was all the evidence he needed to show something was wrong.

Putting some ointment on his face, he walked to his room, accidentally bumping into his dad on the stairs. His father gave him one look, then said, "My office, now." Now, his dad's office was strictly for negotiating prices with clients over portraits, and was on the small side. Keiichi's dad took his chair and mentioned with his eyes for his son to sit down opposite to him.

Keiichi did as he was told, and his father began to ask one simple question. "What in the heck happened to you!"? So Keiichi began with the canceling of the club, his father making the occasional nod or glance at the clock. As the brown haired boy continued to tell the story from his point of view, he felt more regret knot at his stomach. How could he have been so inconsiderate to his friend? After he finished, his voice nearly chocked with how bad he felt, his father spoke.

"So I'm guessing you already learned your lesson about what you did wrong. But I think you need to apologize to her. She's probably going through a rough time, and that was just uncalled for." His son nodded, then got up to leave.

"Well, I have some homework I need to do, so I'm going to my room." He grabbed his school bag, and shooting a look at his dad, left the office. Well, now he felt really bad about what he did to his friend, so pulling out his work, he breezed through, only taking half and hour.

This gave him plenty of time to nap before dinner, but his dream was odd. It was a blur of colors and words, and it scared the piss out of him. He jolted awake when someone violently opened the door. "KEIICHI-KUN!" His dad was back in play mode now, not the serious one he'd been back at the office. Keiichi jumped a vertical 4 feet in the air, grabbing his bat.

"DAD! DON'T FRIKING DO THAT! I NEARLY HAD A HEART ATTACK!" He smiled at his son's expression, pulling out a baseball.

"Well, do you want to practice your swings? You already have a bat." His son slowly nodded, getting up form his futon. Glancing at the clock, two hours had passed, as it was now five thirty. His school clothes were now rumpled, but he didn't care, walking past his mother in the kitchen. She shot him a smile.

"So you're going to work with your dad keiichi? That's good." He shot her a smile back, although he still felt bad about Mion. Keiichi and his father alternated between pitching and catching. "Man, you're getting better at smacking the balls out of the park." Keiichi smiled.

"Thanks." He smiled.

~Mion's POV~

Life wasn't fine on her end though. Dinner had been _too_ cheery,_ too_ forced to her depressed ears. The food placed in her mouth tasted like acid, making her throat burn. Shion was shooting her worried looks, and her mother, who was visiting, could see her daughter was distressed. Trying to talk to her after dinner, she deflected the questions with excuses like, "It's just stress, I'm fine!" Then she ran off to the bathroom.

Her stomach hurt, and after a few minuets it has much less of a burden, thanks to the wonders of fingers-down-the-throat. It left a bad taste in her mouth, so she brushed her teeth and scrubbed her tongue extra-hard. The mint taste clashed with the acid on her tongue, but after awhile won the battle.

Putting her toothbrush back, so noted 2 things. Someone had shouted something about Sake, and there was a bottle of painkillers on the counter. An idea was forming in her head, making her feel relived _and_ have something to do at the clearing. And maybe she'd finally begin to feel better.

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Hello! Thanks for reading! And sorry about the obvious cliffhanger. And now, this will be where I answer reviews. QQQQ: Well, I don't know what to make of that, so I'll just take it as a compliment. And to answer those 4 questions, this is a story. No offence, it just made it fit, because I know my school library wouldn't have a book on how to get ecstasy out of my own urine. And they probably don't even HAVE a library. THANK YOU! Please review!

P.S. One, this chapter is short. 2, It feels rushed. I think when I'm done I'll do a twice over and make everything longer. Thanks for understanding! And a surprise is coming soon!


	4. Chapter 4: Pain:Teminated

Hello again! Man, I have this whole story mapped out until she needs help. So I'm making a poll as I write. Many thanks to those who contribute to it! And, in school, I got into a math class one-grade year above the one I'm in. which means it's more advanced and I'll have to study more. YAY!

And do you guys have this problem? My frisking computer, when I try to do lines, won't let them appear on the website. So it's a number symbol for now.

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Pain: Terminated

Mion was running, late at night, once again, to the clearing. She'd nabbed a bottle of pills and a full bottle of sake while no one had been looking and hidden them under my futon, grabbing them as the clock struck one-AM and running out of the house, the waxing moon overhead giving a small amount of light to go by. Her feet rustled the grass as she made it to the clearing, the river could be heard rushing by, with purpose. Sitting on the rock, she struggled with the cap for a good ten minuets before it popped off, causing her to cheer.

Popping two of the thin white pills in her mouth, she took a swig of the alcoholic drink. The taste was terrible, bitter and burning in her mouth. It nearly made her gag, but she swallowed. Her stomach felt sick within five minuets, but then the meds kicked in.

It felt nice, yes she couldn't feel things like the rock as well, and there were 3's of everything she tried to look at, but she also couldn't feel her emotions well, which made it worth it. All Mion wanted to do was lay down on the rock and listen to the cicada's cries all through the night. But after two hours, around 3:30 AM the effects wore off.  
>This scared her, and she got angry, fuming all the way home. She nearly slammed the window shut until she realized that if she didn't, someone, but not Shion, would wake.<p>

So she had to shut the damn thing like she was holding/putting down a freaking BABY! Hiding the wine and pills in the secret floorboard, She started to feel anxious. 'What if Shion finds out! She'd defiantly tell. I need to make sure there's a better hiding spot.' Trying to think of a good spot, her head hurt like crazy. She clutched it, and hoped it would stop. After a few minuets it ebbed away, causing her to heave a sigh of relief.

But when she tried to sleep, her mind would race around. It was making her anxious, hiding the wine in the floor. What if it went bad? What if it made her an alcoholic like Rika? What would she do then? After a while she drifted off, but it was 5:58 A.M. at that time, and the twins got up at 6:00 AM for school. Mion was in a trancelike state that made even her sister seem awake and preppy.

She didn't even talk when her sister waved a hand in her face, much less even blinked. And, to add to how out of it she was, Mion tried to put on her _sisters school uniform._ Shion, getting worried, gently pulled the clothes out of her hands and handed the other green-haired girl her normal clothes. Mion put them on and slowly walked to the dining room, where everyone was having breakfast.

Mion just stared into space, not even noticing her food. Her mother got up form her spot at the table, earning a glare from Oryo, even though she was just as worried for her granddaughter. Her mother placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to get a response from her "Older" daughter. Mion only blinked, then did a very small shrug.

"Mion sweetie? Are you alright?" The girl only nodded, dark circles under her eyes. The sleepless nights with all the pills had caught up to her, and the alcohol didn't help at all last night. Shion looked at her sister worriedly.

"Onee-Chan? I don't think you should go to school." Mion did a small shake of her head no, then slowly started to eat her food. Her mother sighed in relief, and then went to sit back down. The conversation nearly stopped after this at the table, and when done eating, Mion put her food away. On the walk to school, she barely talked to her sister, and that's when Rena appeared into view.

"Hi Shion-chan. Hi Mion-chan!" Mio sighed, inaudible to her sister and friend. Rena got a confused look on her face after seeing her friend. Mion had dark circles under her eyes, and she barely responded to anyone when they tried to talk to her. Just then a familiar brown head came running across the bridge, nearly tripping on one of the old boards.

"Hey guys! How are you doing!" Rena shot him a questioning look.

"Something's wrong with Mion." Rena said. She seemed worried, and as he got closer, he could see what was wrong with the former club leader. She had dark circles under her eyes, and a sick look about her.

He then remembered what he did yesterday and what he resolved to do. Looking at the other two girls, he shot them a nervous look. "Uh, um guys? Can I talk to Mion for a bit I-in private?" Rena went into "Take it home mode," and started to crush the life out of him.

"Okay Kei-chan," Shion said slyly, "But tell us how it went." After they left, keiichi sighed. They hadn't noticed the make-up he'd borrowed from his mother to hide the bruise Mion had left. As they began to walk a few minuets later, keiichi rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Um Mion? About yesterday, I'm sorry about that. That club was important to you, but I guess everyone's a little mad you're so moody. What's the problem anyway?" She just stared ahead, no reaction but a blink. He waved a hand in front of her face, trying to get anything from her, even another slap.

By the time the two teens had reached school he'd given up. Not only was Mion dead tired, she was probably sleepwalking. Her sister shot her a look as she walked in, but Mion had no reaction. Chie-sensei shot her a worried look, and then got up from her desk.

"Rise! Bow! Sit!" After the morning ritual, she went to Mion, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Mion, are you alright?" The girl didn't reply, just looked into space with a glazed look on her eyes. This worried Chie-sensei, so she called the principal, who'd been passing by in the hallway.

"She's unresponsive. Should someone walk her to Irie's?" The burly man of a principal nodded, then the teacher walked back to class. Everyone in the room was abuzz with questions, while the members of the club looked worried. Rika nudged Hanyuu, looking worried.

"Is it?" The purple haired god shook her head no.

"From what I can tell, she doesn't have the syndrome. Besides, it's August now. We already proved most of the syndrome was a hoax." Rika sighed in relief, but there was still worry reflected in her eyes. Something was wrong with her friend, and it was starting to scare her. And she had stabbed herself in the freaking head! As the teacher walked in, the class went quiet.

"Would one of the older please take Mion to the clinic? Irie needs to make sure she's alright." Keiichi and Shion raised their hands. Chie-sensei called on Keiichi, so he got up and walked over to his friend. Her sister, sitting behind the sick girl, shot him an unreadable look. Keiichi gently grabbed Mion by the wrist, tugging on her arm.

"Mion, I think you need to see a doctor. Come on." She wouldn't budge from the spot, so blushing Keiichi thought of the only other option. He picked her up, and adjusting had to carry her bridal style out the door. She just stared into space, and about halfway to the clinic, He felt something wet satin his shirt. Looking down, His tomboyish club leader with more guts than an organ donation center was crying. If it hadn't been for his shirt getting wet he wouldn't have noticed. Hugging her a little tighter, the clinic came into sight.

The moment Mion saw it; she began to move, catching him off guard. He fell over, and before any reaction came out, she was running down the path, towards the only paved road, which lead out of town. Getting up, he ran after her, trying to stop his friend. "Mion! Stop running already!" His friend didn't hear him, and tripped on a rock. Mion could feel her hands scrape on the rocky ground, cutting at her skin.

She got up again, only to turn around and run past him, surprising Keiichi. He ran after her, and after she tripped again, he grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. "You are going to the clinic, and that's final. So stop struggling already!" When they got there, Irie took one look at her and prescribed sleeping pills.

"Also, try to relax more, you look like you'll burst at the seams soon." She nodded, and walked out of the clinic with the pills. Just more drugs to add to the growing list. Keiichi followed her, and she turned around. She shot him an unreadable look, but at least she had woken up form sleepwalking.

"Look, about that outburst, sorry. Now I think it'd be better if I went home, so you might just want to go back to school before you miss anything else. Bye." Done with her quick and confusing explanation, she turned around and left. Keiichi searched for words to say, trying to figure out a way to find out the truth.

But none came, and Mion was gone. Disheartened, he left back to school. Rena needed help with fractions, Shion with algebra, and once again Rena with how to find negative fractions. It was quite simple to him, so he wondered why all the girls could never do much right.

But that's what you get for studying for nearly 3 years of your life. Those thoughts were depressing him though, so his mind wandered back to class. Chie-sensei was helping out some underclassman with a project. They had to try to build something with clay.

But Mion's actions were still pressing at the back of his mind. 'What's her problem right now?

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All right, now if you're wondering how I know what alcohol taste like, books and church. I had communion a while ago, so now I can do the dips thing with the bread. Just no sips from the silver cup until I'm 21. It tastes gross, but it's diluted so no one runs down the chapel in a panda suit. And yes I have taken painkillers, but that was due to an excruciating headache I had once. And P.S. the wine was the cheap kind, because no one notices when that stuff goes missing in the story.


	5. Chapter 5: More Drugs

Hello! Now, thanks to everyone's reviews, this is by far my most popular story. THANK YOU! Now, I have some other stories planned for this pairing, so just wait until this one's done for some more. THANK YOU! And number symbols represent breaks because FF won't let me add lines.

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When Mion got home, her grandmother called her into the meeting room. She was shocked to find both her mother and Batcha there without her grandmother glaring at her mother. As she kneeled in front of them, her grandmother didn't seem angry for once, a rare side that Mion had only seen once before when she was very little, after a cousin who'd broke his leg. He'd died after being hit by a car a few years back though.

"Yes Batcha?" Mion looked at her grandmothers weathered face, worry lines etched all across. Her mother sported the same look, scared for her daughters well being.

"Mion-chan, you haven't been yourself lately. Is something troubling you?" She realized how bad this could go very fast. Her Mother prided herself in how well she and Shion took care of themselves, saying that they were such fine young women. They'd probably change their minds about her in a heartbeat if they found out what Mion had been doing to herself the past 3 weeks.

Lying was the only way to go at this point. "I'm fine. I just haven't been able to sleep well. Luckily a friend helped me to the clinic, and Irie prescribed some sleeping pills. So don't worry. Just let me rest for a while and I'll be fine!" The last part was said so fast the two adults barely caught it. Her mother was pleased that her daughter seemed fine, and her grandmother, satisfied with the answer, let her go to her room.

Mion grabbed a cup of water from the manor's kitchen, then went to her room. Popping a pill in her mouth, she could feel the effects soon take effect. Stretching out on her side, she felt herself surrender to sleep. It was a pleasant dream she couldn't remember though.

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After school, Hanyuu decided to visit Mion. Every one of her friends wanted to go to see if she was aright, but Keiichi had a bad feeling that it was something worse than no sleep. He'd just have to wait though, since they were already on rocky ground with their friendship already. Giving her 1 more reason to hate him was a very bad idea.

Rena on the other hand, had thought that unresponsive Mion wasn't as cute as a Mion who could react to stimuli. So she wanted to make sure she was well enough to take home. Besides, when Mion got embarrassed, she was so cute! Satoko quickly clamped on her arms. "Keiichi! HELP! CUTE MODE!" The brown haired boy responded and grabbed her left arm, trying to stop Rena from running into theirs friends house and breaking down a few walls in the process of kidnapping Mion. When they were finally at their destination they'd been able to snap Rena out of her thoughts.

Shion unlocked the door, and opened for everyone, mentioning for them to come inside. As they all stood in the small entryway, taking off their shoes, Sonozaki Akane, the twins mother, appeared in the doorway of the Main room. "Ah hello dear. What's with all the visitors?"

Shion smiled mischievously, replying to her mother with, "These are Onee's friends." Pointing to everyone as she stated their names. "Satoko, Rena, Hanyuu, Rika, and Keiichi. Thy all want to make sure Onee's alright after the incident this morning." Everyone nodded, and the twin's mother smiled.

"Alright, she's in the room sleeping. I think you can wake her up. Well, I have to take care of some business in Okinomiya, so I won't be back until dinner. Just remember, your sisters very tired." Shooting the group a kind smile, she left the room.

'Well she wasn't tired when she bruised my shin with her foot.' Thought Keiichi with a note of bitterness in his head. Shion turned to face the group.

"Alright, our rooms this way. Just follow me!" After what seemed a long time to walk to someone's bedroom in a house of that size, the green haired girl knocked on a door.

"Onee, it's Shion. I'm coming in." She reached of the handle and opened the door, to show a room that was kind of plain. The room was of normal size, with 2 futons and a nice view from the window. Currently on her side on one of the futons was Mion, the Dark circles less pronounced then the last time they saw her this morning.

Rena snapped. "SLEEPING MION IS SO CUTE! I'M TAKING HER HOME!" Before anyone could stop her, she was yanking the girl up by the arm and carrying her past them all. Rika was the first to react, running after Rena.

"Rena! Your not supposed to take people home! That's kidnapping!" Rena didn't hear, and darted right passed a shocked Oryo, followed by the club members. She broke down the front door by the time someone grabbed her by the shirt and got dragged forty feet. This unlucky person was Hanyuu, who nearly gave Rena a double count of kidnapping.

"Auauau!" She said, looking at her scraped knee and freaking out. Rena's cute sensor went off, and looking back, saw something a margin cuter then Mion. Throwing her former victim in the air, she grabbed Hanyuu in a tight hug. "I WANT TO TAKE HAYUU HOME TOO!" Mion woke up 20 feet in the air, and these were the first words out of her mouth.

"What the F***! REEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAA!" She landed hard, a loud popping sound coming from her arm. Sitting up, there was a sharp pain coming form her socket. Her arm was bent back in an unnatural position, causing her to seethe. Rena finally came back to reality, only to see Mion with a dislocated arm.

"Mion-chan! Are you alright!" She ran over full of worry, and Satoko sensed a repeat of what happened to her. Mion would get mad and hit you, even if you tried to apologize. And normally, before those incidents, she'd be a lot more forgiving if something like that happened.

Mion shot a death glare at the redhead. "Stay the f*** away from me you stupid idiot. Can you calm down for 5 minuets the moment you see something that you think is cute!" Rena look like someone had taken the Cornel Sanders doll and thrown it off a cliff. She then looked hurt.

"Mion-chan, you haven't been yourself in a while? Is something wrong with you?" Mion shot a dark look at her friend.

"Just shut up. You wouldn't care even if I did tell you." She shakily got up and walked past the rest of the former club members to her house. As she put weight on her left ankle she winced. 'Rena, you stupid brat. You sprained my ankle." The only thing to stop the silence was the sound of a slammed door. Shion just looked shocked. Mion had never done that before.

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Thanks you for reading. And now, review time!

At Crimso- Thank you! I'll try and do more scenes like that more, maybe some rocky ones at first to set the pace.

At IamNotReallyMcCartney- Thank you! I always try to make my stories original, and I'll try to slow down. I guess I just want to get it up for everyone to read and enjoy.

At Sergeant Daniel- Don't worry, I always try to update fast.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!


	6. Chapter 6: AlcoholSick

Hello! Just a reminder, the poll is open and needs your votes! Also, I love how the stories going. P.S. The surprise is in this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy, and thanks to those faithful readers who came back to read the next chapter. This story is so far my favorite. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Alcohol=Sick

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Her arm still hurt.

Mion had been fuming ever since the stupid "Take it home incident". Shion had barely looked at her since she came in the room to sleep. She was treating her like it was her fault that Rena had that Godforsaken Cute Mode. Mion had been stewing in her own anger, and snapping, she'd grabbed the bottle that was ¾ full and ran with the painkillers.

She ran to the clearing, nearly dropping the wine at one point. Not even bothering to go to the rock, she popped a pill and took a long swig of the bottle. It burned her throat and made her queasy, but it calmed her down enough to look over the situation without her head hurting. In the end, it was going no where, and there were 2's of everything she tried to focus her eyes on.

'Maybe I just need to sleep it off, and my body will shut up.' But as she walked along the path, nearing the windmill, her stomach did gymnastics routine. She keeled over and hurled, projectile getting all over her shoes. "Ugh. That one was bad!" Getting back up from the position she'd taken bending over, she stumbled home to clean up, throwing her shoes in the trash. At least she'd worn the bad pair Ba-chan had wanted her to get rid of.

Taking a sleeping pill, Her mind was taken over quickly.

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In the dream, she was falling. Wind rushed by her ears, cold and fast, whistling. A distorted voice was calling something she couldn't place. There was a blue sea below, deep and choppy. She smacked it with bone shattering force, but felt nothing. 'I can breathe?' Was her only thought. As she tried to rise to the surface, something grabbed her by the ankles and pulled. It was shackles.

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As she was shaken awake, Mion mumbled something incoherent. "Onee-chan, it's time to get up." Mion's eyes finally opened, and she yawned. 'OUCH!'

"Meh. Fine." She groggily got up, grabbing for her clothes and shuffling to the bathroom. It took her minuet to get dressed, and she nearly put her underwear on her head. She brushed her hair and tied it up, then walked to breakfast. Everyone seemed in a better mood, although Mion had a splitting headache. She quickly ate, and took a pain killer with water. It would probably make her feel better in 20 minuets. Brushing her teeth, she grabbed her bag and left. Shion was going to walk to school a little later, so she ran ahead to not miss Keiichi and Rena.

But, as she got to the Mill, she surveyed the road. They were ahead of the meeting point, going to school without her. Quickly checking the time on her watch, she saw that she was early. So they didn't have to leave her. Right? Running after them, she yelled to get their attention. "Guys! Wait up!" Keiichi shot her a look, whispered to Rena, and they walked a little faster, ignoring her.

As she neared them, she put her arms around their shoulders and squeezed between the two younger teens. "Hey, why did you guys leave me? Was my watch wrong?" Keiichi turned to give her a hard look.

"Well, you said you didn't want Rena to talk to you anymore, so I was making sure she wasn't lonely. Come on, let's go." He shrugged her off, smiled at Rena, and they kept walking. Mion stood there, completely stunned. Something hot was pricking at her eyes as they disappeared out of view.

Her stomach knotted up, and she fell to her knees. "I really messed up. Didn't I?" The only things alive that heard of her small utterance were the loud cicadas and the rustling of the wind. After wiping at her eyes, she got up. 'I'll show them how tough a sonozaki is then! I'll show them all!' She ran to school, barely making it before Shion walked in.

Everyone ignored her during that day, causing her to feel worse and worse. By the time she got home she wanted to cry. Quickly finishing her homework, she waited for the day to end and night to begin, so she could try to feel better. It seemed normal to everyone else, and barely even her twin noticed the other girl's depressed mood.

When time came for her to go, she took the bottle and ran, realizing with dread there was only enough left for 1 more swig. Popping the pill in her mouth, she looked at the bottle and started to cry, the tears making the drink bitter. She couldn't hold back her sobs though, and collapsed crying. The bitter tears of regret making her face wet.

When she finally had enough composure, her breath hurt and she could barely breathe. She wiped her face, sniffling. "Look at me. I'm completely pathetic. I'm crying over the loss of a stupid club. And who needs friends? I have my family, and they'd leave eventually." Those thoughts depressed her as she threw the bottle in the river. It was time to pick a new cheap one.

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Yet another sleeping pill, and she was off to that same dream. Only this time, she was deeper than before, and immense weight added to her. She tried to look down, but she was being pulled too hard. So she was forced to look up, at the bright light. When she tried to stick out her hand, it was covered with a chain and dragged down hard, as if saying, "_You don't deserve to be anywhere near that place."_ It pulled her harder, and she wanted to cry out for help.

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She shot up upright, Shion still sleeping like a log. Tears were streaming down her face. Quickly wiping them away, she looked at the time. 'It's 5:30, I think I can get up without anyone getting upset.' So she got up, and grabbed her clothes, heading to the bathroom. Doing her normal routine, she took a painkiller before breakfast.

Ba-chan was staring at Mion intently, so she shot a small smile at her. She could've sworn the old woman's face smiled back, but knowing her, that was nearly impossible. She quickly ate the rest of her food and grabbed her bag and lunch. 'I'll leave them behind this time!'

Running as fast as she could past the mill, she reached school first, out of breath and light headed. There was a thumping sound form the side of her head, so she walked into class. After a few minuets she calmed down, and more kids began to trickle in, in larger groups as it neared time for school to start. Mion didn't even look at her former friends as she led everyone through the opening ceremony. Working hard on math, she got a B, (84), on the worksheet.

Smiling in triumph, she kept working. An 80 on a writing piece, and a 77 on another math. How ever, as she got up to go home, she tripped on her chair and fell over. "Ow." Was all she said, getting up and rubbing the spot where she'd hit her head. It stung a little, but she grabbed her stuff and left like it didn't bother her.

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Over the next few days Mion was still getting ignored, and it started to get to her head. She got more and more irritated as everyone was happy, leaving her behind in a pool of depression. She downed yet another bottle of wine over the next few days, and it was empty and the 5th. This made her so angry she threw it at a tree.

It smashed with a loud crack, shards everywhere. One piece cut her cheek, causing some blood to trickle out. She put her fingers to her face, looking at her fingers. 'I didn't even feel that, and I didn't have the pill yet!' This caused her to tear up. 'I can't even feel anymore!' She collapsed crying on the ground. Her nerves were too drugged to work properly anymore. It was depressing to her.

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All right, thanks for reading! Now I don't know if taking too many aspirins can damage your nerves so they don't work anymore, but that's just what I do to make it interesting. Now try to guess what the surprise is.

Now review time!

Sergeant Daniel- I know you mean well, but I don't think Mion needs any more drugs in her head. She's already going to supply the local drugstore for a few years. So I think anymore would kill her.

THANKS FOR READING!


	7. Chapter 7: Cuts and Bruises

Hello once more! This story will hit it's climax in 1 to 4 chapters, then turn to fluffy healing. Man, I'm on a roll. But I'm goig to camp on the 17th, so I won't be able to update for 2 weeks. It'll be fun though, and my mind needs a little break. So please enjoy Chapter 7.

Cuts and Bruises

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Keiichi noticed a bandage on Mion's face the next day, and forgetting that everyone was mad at her, asked her if she was all right.

"Hey, you okay Mion?" She shot him a hard look, as if she was going to snap at him too.

"It's none of your business Marbara-san. Now just leave me alone." Grabbing her stuff, she left the stunned boy to sort out what she just said. 'Did she just use my real name?' Mion was trying to work, but when she couldn't think or wasn't busy she fingered the bandage, trying to sort out her thoughts.

'Why won't my nerves feel anything? Should I lie to Irie to find out a- NO! He'd do a blood test, and I'd test positive for drugs!' She was being tortured by her thoughts, and had a headache by the time she turned in her final worksheet of the day before leaving.

As Chie-sensei took the sheet, the paper sliced her finger. Mion had felt it a little, and looked as some blood formed along the cut. "Ah Mion-chan, are you all right?" The green haired girl nodded and sucked the cut as she walked back to her seat, an idea forming.

'Maybe if I put myself through enough physical pain, the nerves will wake up!' She smiled at the thought. It would be good to have feeling back in her body. 'But what can I use?' She was lost in thought as Shion tapped her on the shoulder.

"Onee, the bells rung. Let's go home already." Mion nodded, following her sister home. Even though the ban was going to be lifted in a week about home-to-school, Mion didn't really have anywhere she wanted to go anyway. So as she put a bandage on the cut, Shion asked if she could use the shower, so Mion stepped out of the bathroom. As she walked to the kitchen to get something to eat for a snack, she saw a razor cutter on the counter.

'That always works.' Slipping it in her skirt pocket she walked to her room, she finished her homework. "Should I sleep? I'll probably be up late anyway." She talked to herself, and decided sleep was better. Popping the pill in her mouth, a memory flashed in her head. Keiichi had cared enough to ask her if she was okay. Smiling to herself, she fell asleep.

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In the dream, she was closer to the bright light she'd been looking at. But as she went to touch it, it vanished. 'What was that?' It had been beautiful and dazzling, but the chains pulled her out of the lights reach. She could feel herself suspended there, unable to go up or down. It saddened her a bit, and the chain tugged. Suddenly she was being shaken awake.

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"Onee, it's time for dinner." Mion stared at her sister for a second, blinking and taking in her surroundings. She slowly nodded and got up. The dream had made her feel worse, and she fingered the blade in her pocket. But she couldn't do it, she had to wait. At dinner she smiled and talked al lot, laughing at a joke her Uncle had made. Then she talked to her mother for a bit.

'I just need to tell someone!' She thought. Shion wouldn't get it, because they were still her friends, and Ba-chan was too harsh with punishment. "Hey mom?" Her mother looked at her.

"Yes Mion? Is something the matter?" Even though she and her mother were close, sometimes they didn't see eye-to-eye, but she loved her through and through.

"Um, Uh-" She couldn't find the words to say. How could you tell your mother you'd just done drugs and booze, and were planning to slice your skin open later at night? "Never mind, it's pretty hard to explain." Her mother nodded and smiled.

"Well if you find how to explain it, I'm always there for you." Mion wanted to burst suddenly, and scream that she wouldn't understand, even if she told. But she just smiled. "Thanks Mom. I'll tell you if I can put it into words." She left to her room, planning to nap until Shion went to sleep. She really needed to make up for all that Insomnia, and she couldn't do much else anyways until everyone was sleeping.

As soon as she couldn't hear anything, Mion slid open the window and hopped out. The cool night air felt good on her skin, and she began to run. Her ponytail fluttered behind her, and she continued to run, remembering why everyone had forced her to do this. Mion gritted her teeth, and kept running. Tears pricked at her eyes, and she knew if she stopped it would make her collapse and cry.

When she got to the clearing se grabbed the razor form her pocket and cut, slashes on her wrist. She winced at the small amount of pain she felt, and her tears fell, mixing with the crimson liquid and turning it pink. She stopped after about 8 slashes, and just let the blood flow. She pretended it was all her problems, leaving her and letting her feel better. She smiled at the thought, and walked over the small stream, dipping her arm in to her elbow and watching as the water turned pink and washed it away. Mion smiled as she cleaned it up.

"Now for some Band-Aids. Too bad I didn't bring any." So holding her arm tightly to make sure she stopped the bleeding and cursed herself a little for forgetting the band-aids. Climbing up the window hurt, but she smiled. She'd finally gotten herself to feel much better. But then something pressing came to mind.

'If anyone found out, they'd be disgusted! How can I hide it!' She thought, wrapping the slices tightly in bandages.' She decided to wipe off the blade too, so no one got suspicious even if they found it. Slipping it back in her skirt pocket, she changed into PJ's and took a sleeping pill.

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She was deeper than before in that dream, a heavy weight crushing her chest. She wanted to cry out for help, for anyone, but something was blocking her mouth. She desperately kicked her legs, trying to swim upward. The chains only cut into her ankles, rubbing them raw. She screamed…

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Shooting up out of bed, Mion could feel tears in her eyes. Shion was even startled up, and shot a worried look at her twin, a hand over her heart. "Mion, are you okay." Her twin nodded in response, shooting Shion a watery smile.

"Yeah, just a bad dream, I'm fine." Shion smiled at her and dove back under her blankets.

"Well, try to get back to sleep. And wake me up if it happens again." Mion smiled a real smile at her sister.

"I will. Thanks!" She fell back into sleep, but it was just white. She didn't know if she was dreaming or not, but she didn't care.

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In the next day at school, Mion got a few worried looks at her arm. When Shino saw, worry filled her face. "Onee? Is your arm alright?" She nodded, then turned back to her work. Even Rena and Satoko shot a worried glance at her, even though they were still a little mad at her for screaming at them. Satoko walked over to Shion, giving her a hug from behind.

"Nee-nee, Is Mii-chan all right?" Shion nodded.

"Yeah from what she's been telling me, it seems she just stressed and needs to let it out." The green haired girl turned around and hugged satoko. "Don't worry, I think she's fine."

'You don't know half of it.' Thought Mion bitterly. She ignored the routine of 'Take It home' that ensued, with Rena running away with satoko and Shion. Chie-sensei ran after them, trying to keep them from giving Rena yet another charge of kidnapping. Keiichi gave another look at her bandaged left arm, then went back to work.

'If she says she's fine, she's fine. Besides, she's tough as nails.' Oh, how wrong that guess was.

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Thanks for reading! Hoped none of you saw that surprise coming. Also, this story has passed 10,000 words! I feel so accomplished! YAY! Also, someone try to guess what that dream means, and then review their guesses. That means you, silent readers!

Now to answer Reviews!

Sergeant Daniel- The reason they're acting like Jerks is due to the fact they don't know what she's doing at night, they think she's just being a total B****. So maybe they just don't want her to hit them anymore.


	8. Chapter 8: Mace

Hello once more! I'm so thankful that a lot of people like my story! So please review and enjoy! (P.S. I said this would be a five shot, but my plans raced ahead so now it's 10 to 20 Kay?)

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Mion walked home, thinking out how to solve a though question she'd seen on the math homework, getting halfway through by the time she got to her house. Her mother was taking care of a business problem in Okinomiya, so Mion had time to think about what she could say.

'Any way I tell her, all I think is she'll get mad or hate me!' Mion could barely see the paper anymore, her eyes were blurring with tears. She just needed a hug, and Shion had gone to 'work', so there was no one to talk to. Maebara-san would hang up if she called, and Rena, satoko. But then she remembered Rika and Hanyuu.

'Wait, no. Since they're neutral, they might tell everyone else!' An increasing sense of dread and anxiety filled her, until she ran to the bathroom and locked the door. Grabbing the blade form her pocket she did a quick slash, trying to calm down. The blood flowed through the slice in the bandages, and holding her arm over the sink, she let it bleed.

The sink had about a teaspoon of blood in it before Mion tightly wrapped up her arm in a gauze strip. It turned slightly pink form the still-bleeding wound, but didn't satin. She smiled, wiped away the remaining tears, then walked back to her room, trying to get lost in the orderly, non-emotional attachments of numbers.

'Why did I hate math? There's no drama, no tears, and they don't get upset if you make a mistake.' She smiled at the thought, but it never reached her eyes. The homework seemed easier than what it would have been a few months ago, and a feeling of pride came as she finished it. Shion came back a little while later, seeming a mixture of sadness and relief, and quickly pulled out a book she'd borrowed.

"How was work?" Mion asked. She didn't know of Satoshi's condition or whereabouts. Shion smiled, but for some reason her eyes were red and a little puffy.

"Oh it was fine, less otakus than normal." Mion nodded; glad her sister hadn't been harassed so much. She always got shivers when it was her working day on one of the switch days. Those creeps scared her more than a horde of angry Hinamizawans. And THAT was scary.

The night seemed normal to everyone else, and since Mion had already let out most of her stress she decided to sleep early, her mother late in coming home and Ba-chan never a good person to tell emotional matters to. Popping a sleeping pill in her mouth, it made her eyelids heavy and helped her rest.

#

In the dream, she could feel her ankles hurt as the chain tugged, unable to pull her down any farther, but not letting her go. She could feel tears flow down, yet she smiled. The light wasn't going to get closer to her, and resigning to that fact, she remembered tomorrow was Sunday. 'At least I won't have to deal with everyone ignoring me.' This let the chains push her upwards a tiny bit.

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Waking up at around 10 AM, Mion found her sister was up and gone, so stretching, she padded over to the kitchen and grabbed some leftovers from the fridge, eating some curry. It burned her mouth a little, but she ignored it and shoveled a bit more into her mouth. Washing her plate and utensils in the sink, she decided to take a walk. Ba-chan didn't care where she went on her free days, and the ban had been lifted on Saturday.

Getting dressed in her jeans and yellow t- shirt, she added the normal accessories and left to get some exercise. The gun was filled with liquid mace, and she wandered to the clearing. Going to where she'd cut yesterday, she saw dark spots on the grass, and a few on the rock. It mad her feel a little sick, and she looked at the bandages on her arm, with a small brown spot where her blood had seeped through.

But since this place was reserved for nighttime, she left and wandered around the mountain, reaching Furude shrine after 30 minuets or so of walking. Se looked at the big building and climbed the steps. It was always awe-inspiring. But as she reached the grassy part in the back, there were her ex-friends, having a picnic. The moment she saw them she wordlessly turned and left, not wanting a confrontation.

Too bad Keiichi, the master of words, noticed her walked over. "Oi Mion, wanna join us?" She shook her head no.

"Thank you for the offer Maebara-san, but no thank you." Turning around, she kept walking until he grabbed her wrist near the steps. Whipping to look at him, there was no expression on her face. "Please let me go, you already have my answer." When he shot her a pleading look, she yanked her arm free and gave him mace to the face.

The only sound following her was his screams of pain as it stung at his eyes and nose. She smirked to herself. He should have to learn; you don't "Act" like a friend to Mion. Either you are or you aren't. She could also hear some of her former friend's concerned cries as they tried to flush his eyes.

Getting home while smiling and giggling to herself, she walked into the entrance of the manor. Ba-chan stood in the doorway, and angry was barely scratching the surface of how her expressions looked. "Mion, meeting room, _now," _Her voice made Mion flinch, and she quickly followed her grandmother to the room.

Her mother sat there, worry and disappointment on her face. Mion fingered her bandages as she kneeled in front of them. Her mother was the first to speak. "Mion, The Clinic called. Keiichi had liquid mace sprayed in her eyes, and there might be damage to his vision. Now you're the only person in this town with liquid mace, so you ought to tell us what you did this instant."

Mion nodded, and told her version, how she didn't want a confrontation and he'd grabbed her wrist, and she'd aimed for his face when she shot. This caused a look of disgust to cross her face as she glared at her granddaughter. "To think how we raised you, and you come out like this. You're a disgrace. And I'll punish you so."

Mion's triumphant face fell as Kasai came out of an adjoining room and grabbed her by the arms, dragged her to the torture chamber. A familiar device was pulled out on the table, the nail ripping device. Her mother strapped her arm in as a few relatives sat on the mats.

Mion was forced to watch as they positioned her struggling fingers, with more straps than before so she wouldn't break free or dodge the clipper. She couldn't move her finger, and her mother watched with an unreadable emotion as her daughter struggled agenst the heavy machine. The hammer was brought down, and she screamed in pain as her pinky nail was torn off. They moved to the next finger, her ring nail getting torn off, causing her to let the tears fall. It went on until all her nails were gone, and she was left sobbing on the floor.

Her mother gave her a final look, as she was the last to leave, and hugged her daughter. "I'm sorry Mion, but you need to learn that you've caused a lot more harm to Keiichi. He might have permanent damage." Kissing her forehead, she left the girl alone. Mion quickly ran to the bathroom, wrapping her fingers in bandages. It stung to touch them with the gauze, and hot tears continued to fall.

Shion didn't even look Mion in the ye when she walked in, and fell asleep without a word to her twin. Mion felt her hands throb, but she had something she needed to do. Grabbing the blade and running once more along the familiar path, she reached the clearing and unwrapped the bandages on her wrists like a birthday present.

Slashing over and over again, she felt lightheaded and sick. After a while she had to stop, since there were over twenty new marks on her skin. She let it bleed, losing around a pint of blood in the process. Wrapping it up, she decided to rest for a while, since stars filled her eyes when she tried to stand. She dosed off though, having that dream.

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In the dream the light was just a pinpoint, nearly vanished from the moving waves. She cried, curling up in a small ball as the chain pulled her farther and farther away. The chain was eating away at her ankles, the pain increasing as she lost more and more skin. It hurt so badly, but she knew she deserved it. She didn't have any bandages here, and looked at her pitiful fingers and bruised wrists.

And yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe this was what she was destined to, as punishment. 'Maybe I shouldn't have done this in the first place.' But it was too late; she was addicted to pain and trying to feel better. And it was killing her from the inside out.

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Thanks for reading! And yes, Mion must be bullied like this for the story to work the way I want it to. Now review time!

James Birdsong- I don't know what to make of that so I'll take it as a compliment. THANK YOU!


	9. Chapter 9: Eyepatch

Hello! Thanks for reading so far! I really hope you guys like how the stories going, and PLEASE REVIEW! I'm trying to churn out as much as I can for the story before camp. PLEASE ENJOY!

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Waking up again, she checked a watch she'd started to carry around everywhere; it read 3:57 AM, Which was an indicator to go home. She felt cold when she got up, and shook as she stumbled along the road. The bandage was a rusty brown color now, soaked through. Mion could barely climb through her window as the morning sun shone through, and changed the bandages on her arms.

Her fingertips hurt still, and the bad feelings she had from last night nearly made her cry. Grabbing her clothes, she got dressed VERY early and made some food before anyone was up, not wanting to eat with her family. Leaving a note saying she was getting to school early to ask the teacher some questions, she walked out of the house. They couldn't do much else to punish her when it seemed like she was doing it to improve her grades.

She decided to visit the clinic to see if keiichi was all right, feeling bad. He'd just been trying to be nice, even though she'd been a total selfish b**** to him. Peering in the stay over window for the people that needed to be monitored for the night. Even though Keiichi was asleep, she saw that she had an hour to kill and would wait until he woke up, just in case his eyes were damaged.

She had to admit his sleeping face was kinda cute. 'Oh what am I thinking, I'm the reason he's here anyway!' After another peek in the window, she saw Irie walk in and wake him up. Keiichi seemed like he was okay, his eyes were able to focus on where Irie was from her vantage point.

Felling a little better she left to school, being the first one in the classroom besides Chie-sensei, and she only shot a glance at her hands before going back to a book on curry. Mion just nodded and sat down, going over her homework before doodling on the paper. Holding the pencil the normal way hurt her fingers, and she spent 20 minuets trying to find a way that didn't hurt to write, but still kept her handwriting normal.

After a while more kids walked in, chatting and laughing. Mion grabbed some packets and decided to try and get some work done before it was time to lead the class. She didn't even glance at anyone who came in the room, but she could feel their stares on her hands and the bandages. Ignoring the stares, she led the class through the morning routine. After everything was done, she worked on the sheets, each problem seeming a little easier than the last.

After a while it was lunch, so she just pulled out the bento box from her locker and sat at her desk. The meal was a little plain, just onigiri (1) and some mochi (2). She didn't care though, and quickly munched on the dish. Finishing early, she got back to a writing piece she was supposed to do for the teacher.

At the end of the school day Mion walked home, going slow so Rena could pass her and leave her alone. Shion had gone to have dinner at satoko and Rikas, but she also needed to go do something first. Mion didn't know where her twin went, but she didn't care either way. Her sister wasn't being harmed by it, so Mion didn't ask questions. As she veered to the path that led to her house she saw a cicada on the ground. It was injured and helpless, and gave a meek warning call as she picked it up.

Something made her want to protect and help the poor bug, so cupping her hands around it she went in her house, taking off her shoes and running to her room with the small bug. Pulling out a random glass jar she never really wanted to throw away, Mion put the bug in there and ran outside for a twig, breaking it to fit in the jar. Placing it in, she shut the lid and poked air holes in the top of the jar. The cicada began to cry it's song, and she smiled.

Having finished her homework in school, she sat mesmerized by its song, and found herself humming along as it resonated through her room. She didn't realize how much time had passed until her stomach growled. Checking the time, it was 6:30, dinnertime. She didn't want to face her family, but she forced herself up and walked to the table.

Ignoring the chatter all around, she wanted to leave quickly. But as she got up, her mother looked at her. Something was wrong with the gaze, until she looked at her arm. A few cuts had re-opened, and turned the bandage red. Mion just mouthed don't worry and ran to the bathroom, putting on ointment with the intent to help it clot. Wrapping a new bandage around her arm, she saw that one of the older cuts had started to lose it's scab, laving a white line where it used to be red.

'At least I'll remember the lesson now.' She put back everything she'd used to help treat her arm and went back to her room, the cicada still crying, but softer this time. She opened the jar and lifted the bug, letting it sit on her arm. It crawled up until it reached her elbow, and she felt a sharp pain. Looking at the bug, she nearly crushed it when she saw it was trying to suck on her blood.

Instead she picked it up and held it in between her fingertips, glaring at it. She could feel a desire in her fingertips to crush the bug and kill it, teaching it a permanent lesson on why you shouldn't hurt Mion Sonozaki. But hen she remembered where that got her before and looked at the pitiful bug before her.

Putting it back in the jar, she felt sickened at herself. She nearly killed the poor thing when it was just mistaken. Seeing that Shion had come home, she waited until her sister fell asleep at 11:17, then climbed out the window to run to the safest spot she knew, the clearing in the woods. Taking the blade form her pocket, she placed it on the rock and unwrapped the bandages.

It hurt, since some of the scabs had fused to the wrappings. She held the blade to her arm, closer to the elbow than normal, and sliced. 'I'm sorry for trying to kill that cicada.' One cut. Two cuts, and she felt a little better. She let it bleed for a bit, then stuck her hand in the river, watching her blood flow downstream. Wrapping her arm up again, she decided to just stay and watch the stars. The cicadas were less noisy, starting to rest for the night.

Mion was feeling a tiny bit better, but she still felt guilty and mad about everything that had happened. Her friendships seemed unsalvageable now, and it made her sick. But she closed her eyes anyway, remembering all the fun times they had and the lasting affect it gave her. But she was mentally sick right now, and a symptom was being downright nasty.

Getting up, she stretched. It was only 1 AM, so she decided to get some sleep anyway. Running to her house, she climbed in the window and changed to her clothes, downing a sleeping pill and making it lights out for her.

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In the dream the blackness was starting to consume her. All the colors were fading form her clothes, and the painful shackles were working on the 5th layer of skin now. She wasn't scared of it anymore though. She just let it eat away at her colors. Her eyes stung too, but she wouldn't let the tears out. She'd cried enough anyway.

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A bright sun met her eyes, with her sister shaking her awake. That was a very rare sight indeed. "Onee, it's time to get up!" Mion rubbed her eyes and slowly got up, reaching for her clothes and padding to the bathroom to change. She quickly tied her tie to her neck with an expert knot, brushed her hair, and left to the kitchen. Her fingernails hadn't started to grow back yet, but past experience told her it took awhile for them to come back anyway.

Finishing her rice and grabbing some food, she left for school, her sister taking a little while longer, as usual. Walking to school, she saw keiichi and Rena walking up the path. She knew what would happen if they saw her, so she took a different shortcut to school. Making it before they did, she sat in her desk and made it look like she'd been there for a while.

When the two of her former friends walked into the room, and she felt really bad when she saw keiichi's left eye. He had a white medical eye-patch over it, but seemed okay for the other eye. Mion looked back at her work before he could notice, and played with the bandages on her fingers. She accidentally put too much pressure on one and winced.

But the teachers voice pulled from the Guilt Express Line. "Mion, would you lead the class?" She nodded and got up from her desk, doing the normal routine. The Teacher had a writing test for them, which Mion got an 82 on. It didn't make her feel better though, because everyone else from the former club got higher grades than her.

Putting the sheet away in her bag, she realized she had nothing to do. Pulling out some paper, she started to doodle an array of lilies on the page, making a cute border. Shion, who was bored out of her mind, looked at her picture. "Don't they use those at funerals?" Mion quickly turned the page over and glared at her twin.

"It's none of your business." Her tone was low and threatening, and her sister knew to back off. Mion continued doodling until the end of the day, only getting up for a quick trip to make a deposit in the girl's bathroom and getting colored pencils top color her picture. In the end she signed the middles and slipped it in her bag.

At the end of the day she got up and walked home, making sure to walk fast so that She wouldn't have to see Keiichi and Rena. As she turned down the path to the Mill, Shion tapped her on the shoulder. "Mion, why the heck was there a cicada in a jar in our room?"

"Well, Um, Uh, it was hurt, and I…" Shion shot a look at her sister and sighed.

"Onee, it's wings broken. And those don't heal. So either you kill it, or let it starve in the wild." Mion felt sick now. She'd liked to have that cicada in her room, and now she either had to kill it humanly or deal with guilt.

'Why do I have to harm everything!' She clutched her stomach, the knot inside was making her want to vomit, and she felt sicker than she did with the alcohol in her stomach. Running to side of the road, she let it out, coughing up her lunch and anything else that was in there. After wiping her mouth, she got up from her kneeling position and felt dizzy. Walking to her house, she felt a bad taste in her mouth that could only be caused by stomach juices coming into your mouth. When she got home she washed her mouth out with about half a tube of toothpaste before doing her homework. She felt cold and sweaty.

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THANKS FOR READING!

Please note:

(1) Onigiri is a sticky rice ball with seaweed to hold them and a small piece of meat or fruit in the back. Well it can be anything. Hotaru and I once made some shaped like cats with raisins in the back. They were delicious.

(2) Mochi is a dried rice cracker. Haven't had them yet, but want to try.

Review time!

James Birdsong- Glad you enjoyed the story. And as a challenge for being a reader, what does this dream she have represent?

Sergeant Daniel- Thanks. And the same question to you. I really want to see if anyone can find out that dreams meaning is?


	10. Chapter 10: Dizzy

Hello! I hope you like my stories! Well, a lot of people do, so that makes me feel great! So thanks to all you loyal readers! Anyway, I'm going to hit the climax soon! So put out the dog, neuter the cat, and lock grandma in the cupboard!

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Mion had gotten the flu and could barely stand. She had a ringing in her head that made it nearly impossible to hear, and a splitting migraine to boot. She normally just took her meds and a sleeping pill, so she was knocked out for 23 hours of the day. Around the 4th day her fever finally broke, and she felt a little better. Irie suggested keeping her out of school for 3 more days, because she was tired and her immune system was out of whack.

The medicine was a liquid that made her gag, so she couldn't wait until she was better. After the three days passed it was Friday, so Mion quickly got dressed and walked slowly to school. Most of her cuts had healed, but there were many white lines crisscrossing her left arm now. She decided to give it a break, and left the blade in the small floorboard space.

But Mion couldn't wear the bandages forever, so after a few more days she biked to Okinomiya and bought a few different arm warmers. Placing them on, they went to her elbows and looked very cute. Buying a few pairs, she placed a set on and biked back home. It was Sunday, but she didn't want to leave to the clearing until nightfall. As she worked on all the missed work she needed to do for school. There were at least 25 pages to be done, and she needed to also write a very short entry of what it was like being sick for writing.

She excluded many parts, like the sleeping pills and the cuts healing, because those were beyond private material for the small essay. Instead she talked about the splitting headache, and by the time she had to eat dinner she felt a little bit worried. Her mother looked at the gloves, and the moment she saw the checkerboard pattern she automatically wanted to know where she bought such, "Cute little arm warmers for winter!"

She smiled and said that she'd wanted to get some for a while, and those just seemed to fit her best. Her mother smiled. "Well if you weren't wearing them I'd probably take them from your closet!" Mion smile became blank for a few seconds before she forced a laugh.

"Then I guess I'll just have to hide them from you then!" She smiled as she sat down, joining in the chatter. Mion had also bought longer ones so she could hide her hands in case the band-aids came off her fingertips. The nails had started to grow back, and were still very small and could still hurt if you touched the fleshy part of her skin.

But Mion still felt depressed. Whenever she thought of what Kei-chan would have to go through now with one eye, she felt sick. So she took any chance she could to punish herself, by tripping or scratching when she could get away with it. This passed for a few months, with cuts happening more and more.

After a bit more on her left she began to do her right arm, to make sure that she wouldn't go without having done harm to both arms. There was a very faint white line on her cheek from the first cut by the bottle, but you could barely notice it. Mion had been able to convince Shion to let her keep it, and the poor bug lived. But as August neared September, it seemed to be sick. It wouldn't call as much, and kept trying to dig at the bottom of the glass. So Mion took the bug out, set it down, and filled the jar about 3 inches full with dirt.

The moment the cicada went back it buried itself in the dirt. Mion remembered that all the bugs hibernated for a few years, so she left the jar on a shelf. Pulling the razor from the floor, she put it in her skirt and continued to write her essay until 11, when Shion fell asleep. Seeing that the girl was out, Mion placed the paper away with her finished math problems. Climbing down the pipe as usual, Mion ran to the clearing. But as she held the blade to her wrist, she paused?

'Haven't I hurt myself enough to repent?' But something in her head said no. She slashed at her wrist, Watching as the blood came out. It was making her feel dizzy though, so she quickly bandaged it and leaned agenst the rock. However the bleeding took longer to stop than normal. And she slept for a while before trying to go back. She was dizzy climbing up at 3 in the morning, and got some more sleep before school.

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In the dream the water was turning red. She looked at her arms, and every cut was open and pouring out blood. She desperately tried to stop it, but chains held her wrists and stopped her hands. She opened her mouth to call for help, but a thick, oily liquid filled her mouth, silencing her. She realized it was the black water, and desperately tried to force it form her body. She tried to scream once more, and-

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"Mion! Wake up!" It was her twin Shion. Mion shot up out of her futon, placing a hand over her heart. Grabbing her clothes, she tried to shake off the nightmare by brushing her hair and trying it in the usual ponytail. Going to breakfast, she joked along with everyone about how it was getting cold. After finishing, she gave her mom a peck on the cheek and ran with a lot of speed to school, reaching it before Keiichi, Rena, Hanyuu, Rika, or Satoko could get there.

She did a final edit to her story before anyone got there, then sat tapping her pencil on the desk. Chie-sensei smiled at her, then pulled out a romance novel called, "Curry in the moonlight." Mion sighed and put her head on the desk. Her arm had a faint throbbing feeling from all the cuts she'd made in it last night.

Keiichi walked in first without Rena, and ignored her as he sat down. She felt for the razor in her pocket, and quietly lifted up the sleeve of her right arms warmer. Making a small scratch, it looked like she was reaching for something in her bag. She added a band-aid on top so it wouldn't bleed through, and waited for class to happen and end.

It made her feel sick to her stomach, and she could barely pay attention in class. When she got home, she worked on the last bit of late homework and tried to make time pass as fast as possible. At around 4 P.M. Shion pulled out a deck of cards. "Hey Onee, wanna play? You seemed stressed." Mion couldn't help but smile a little.

"Alright. But the winner gets to ask the loser 1 question. It can be anything though!" Shion smiled. But no matter how hard she tried; Shion won the game of poker in the end. Smiling, she put the cards away.

"Now Onee, what was your problem that's happened over the last few months? Because you've never acted that way before." Mion looked down, her bangs hiding her eyes. When she spoke, her tone was low and threatening.

_"None of your damn business." _Shion looked at her puzzled. Didn't Mion have to answer her? She did win.

"What?" She was very confused now.

"I SAID IT'S NONE OF YOUR GODDAMN BUISSNESS!" Mion sat there, trying to relax and breathing deeply. Shion looked like she'd just ripped Satoko's intestines out and forced them down her twin's throat. She'd made a chocking sound, swallowed hard, and got up.

"Fine then. I forgot something I needed to do at my apartment." She grabbed her bag, and Mion could hear her mutter something to Kasai before leaving. She felt sick, and didn't come down to dinner. She fingered the blade longingly in her pocket, but she'd have to wait. However she'd decided to sleep instead, and took one of the pills.

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In the dream she couldn't see the light anymore, and there were now chains on her arms and neck. When she looked at her arms, they'd started to turn black at her fingertips, spreading up slowly but deliberately. It scared her, and she desperately struggled. It was still moving though, no matter how hard she tried. It hurt!

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Opening her eyes, it was about 5 in the morning. Stretching, she tiptoed around, doing her usual morning routine. Leaving another, "Question To The Teacher," note, she left for school. It was getting chilly, due to it being late September, and she wished she'd brought a jacket. It normally didn't get this cold until October, and she stood freezing outside the small school.

She kept her hands crossed across her chest and shook, trying to stay warm. Luckily Chie-sensei came after a few minuets, unlocked the door, and let her in. She smiled gratefully and sat down, working on the last bit of her writing piece. Turning it in, she doodled more flowers on what she'd started to call the lily page.

The school day passed normally, until she opened her locker door to find all the props they used in club activities. It made her feel bad, remembering why it all started, so she ran home, grabbed a bag, and worked on throwing everything in the bag. After that she lugged it outside and tossed it near the bins, walking away with her school bag.

Rena had been watching though, and quickly took the bag home. Not only was it full of cute things, but maybe if Mion got better they could use it for club. She smiled and placed it in her closet. 'I'll give it back when she's ready.' It made the orange haired girl smile. She really hoped her friend got better.

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THANKS FOR READING! And sorry for the time skips, I just didn't want it to get too boring.

Review time!

Sergeant Daniel- Yes! Correct. You get a toaster oven! But I think I buried it in Siberia. And the blackness represented her depression, and how the addictions were making her go deeper and deeper, making it nearly impossible to see the light. Shakespeare's got nothing on me!


	11. Chapter 11: ReStart

Hello! Thanks once more for reading. Damn, I'm over 15,000 words! YAY! Now read and enjoy!

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It was October 1st, so Mion couldn't find a long sleeved version of her uniform. So she had to wear the elbow gloves. Chie-sensei didn't tell her to take them off, and the principal didn't really care much, which was good for her. Sighing, she fingered with the edge of the right glove, which had begun to lose a little bit of its color and fray. She sighed and got to work, improving her grades. Then a thought came to her mind about the club.

'What if I started it again?' Smiling, she formed a way to tell Batcha why she should be allowed to do club. 'I could say it's a good leadership exercise that would help me run Hinamizawa later in life, and keep the Sonozaki family in touch with the Furude's!' It seemed a stroke of genius on her part, and she decided to make her case after dinner. Her fingernails had grown back, so she prayed she wouldn't get punished by the family again.

Walking home, she had it all planned out, running the village and everything. She worked quickly on her homework, confident there weren't that many mistakes. She then had to help Shion with her work. It was quite easy for her to explain it, and after around 10 minuets Shion started to do it on her own. Mion sometimes looked at the jar where the cicada slept, waiting for the right time to wake up and sing again. After a while it was dinner, and she smiled.

The conversation was light and cheery, with lots of laughter after the Sake cups were filled a few times. The food went quickly, and soon it was time for Mion to face the head of her family. She felt sick to her stomach but looked straight ahead, remembering the reward if she did this right.

"Batcha-sama, I humbly request to use some of your time in the meeting room." Mion waited as Batcha nodded, then walked quickly to the room and stood, waiting for her grandmother to sit down. After the woman had been seated and comfortable Mion began.

"Batcha-sama, do you remember that club I'd started last year? The one that hindered my grades?" Her grandmother nodded.

"I'm glad you followed my advice and shut it down. It was only causing problems." Mion nodded, remembering to bite her tongue and use only a polite tone.

"Well, I humbly request that Batcha-sama let me resume that club and all of it's activities. I'd like to build up my leadership skills, and it gives the important social skills needed to run things like a business correctly and with ease." Her grandmother nodded, glad Mion knew how to get her way while still making all parties benefit.

"You have my permission and blessing, and may resume that club and all of its activities." Mion smiled, bowed, and left the room. She wanted to scream with delight! The club was back! She couldn't wait to tell them until tomorrow, so she ran to the phone and called Rika, Hanyuu and Satoko first."

"Moshi Moshi?" A small voice said. Mion instantly recognized it as Hanyuu's.

"Hey Hanyuu! It's the old man! Can you get Rika and Satoko to come too?" She nodded, and you could hear the sound of tiny feet walking somewhere on the other end. After a few muffled sentences, Rika was on the phone.

"Mii-chan, what is it you wanted to tell us, sir?" She had a questioning tone in her voice.

"Guys, I talked to Batcha, and she said I can restart the club! Isn't that great news!" There was a second of silence, and Mion got suspicious. "Guys?"

"Your kidding right?" Satoko said, slightly suspicious if this was a prank. Mion shook her head in exasperation.

"Guys, I'm serious here!" Another second of silence, and a cheer from the other end of the line rose up.

"YAY! CLUB!" Mion winced and held the phone away from her ear, smiling.

"Alright, Mion smiled, "Now I have to call everyone else, so I need to hang up, 'Kay?" There was a chorus from yes on the other line, so Mion quickly hid end and dialed Rena's house. A click from the other end, and she heard the familiar voice of her orange-haired friend.

"Hello?" She asked attentively. Most people didn't call her house after 8 o' clock, and she was a little suspicious.

"Hi Rena, it's Mion! Great news!" She could hear a look of confusion cross the other girls face.

"What is it, what is it?" Mion smiled even wider. The news only got more exciting per call!

"CLUB'S COMING BACK AS OF TOMORROW!" There was a squeal of joy from the other end.

"Rena can't wait, Can't wait!" She squealed, wanting desperately to take something home. She was starting to get the itching sensation, and…wait.

"Mii-chan, remember how you threw all the club items out?" Mion face fell. Major. Buzz kill. That is, until she heard the next sentence. "Well, Rena saved them all and has them in her closet? Want me to bring them and give them back?" Mion's smile came back, and she nodded until she remembered she was on the phone.

"Please bring them back! We can't see Kei-chan in a maid outfit if he doesn't lose a game!" She then remembered she had to call him to make the club complete. "Well, I have to go call Kei-chan, so just bring everything alright?"

"Sure, and tell him Rena won't lose!" Rena wanted to jump around, so was so excited! Bashful Keiichi was too cute in a maid outfit!

"Well, see you tomorrow!" Mion exclaimed, she heard a click, and set the phone down before dialing again for Keiichi's house.

When the phone was picked up she heard his mothers voice. "Hello? Who is this?"

"This is Mion Sonozaki, may I please talk to Kei-chan?" There was a yes from the other end, and she heard someone say, "Keiichi! Telephone!" Then a few muffled words and the weird noise that can only be made when a phone is passed from one person to another.

"Hello?" said a familiar voice. Mion smiled again. This news was so good!

"Hey Kei-chan, good news!" She couldn't stop smiling! However, there was a bit of suspicion in his voice as he replied with, "What?"

"I talked to Batcha, and she said I can restart the club! First match tomorrow, so you'd better stay after!" There was a long silence form the other end, and then keiichi went serious.

"Mion, ya know," There was a pause, and then he continued. "I'm totally going to beat you!" He laughed, and Mion couldn't help but laugh too. Keiichi was, as usual, the one to play with words.

"Alright, see ya tomorrow!" Mion hung up the phone and played with her arm warmers, a saddening thought crossed her mind. 'What if I lose, I might have to take off the arm warmers!' She quickly shook the thought. "NO! This old man won't lose!" She walked to her room to tell Shion the good news, and her twin smiled.

"Alright Onee! Remember, I put up a fight!" Mion smiled and playfully punched her twin in the shoulder.

"Well, I'm going to bed early, so don't wake me up. This old man needs energy to battle tomorrow!" Smiling, she grabbed her PJ's, brushed her teeth, and dove under the covers. She didn't need the sleeping pills or the razor anymore, so they were locked away in the floor.

#

In the dream the light dazzled all around. But as she tried to lift her arms and push out, they felt heavy. Looking at her arms, every cut had a lead weight attached, making each arm at least 300 pounds. She was almost at the surface, but she couldn't reach. She could see all her friends' faces in the light, looking at her expectantly. All their expressions said, "Why don't you come out? Your almost there!" She tried to shake her head and kick her legs, as she couldn't feel the shackles anymore, but she was stuck, and it was of no use. This scared her badly. She just couldn't tell them!

#

When Mion woke up from her nightmare, it was 6:00 A.M. Sighing, she got dressed and let her sister sleep. She brushed her hair, and placed the normal scrunchy around it in her usual high ponytail. Doing an once-over, she ran to breakfast, the gloves on. Most people were just getting up, and a little sleepy, so there wasn't much conversation. Finishing, Mion grabbed her lunch from the kitchen and waved to her mother.

"Bye Mom! I'm off!" She ran down the path to the old mill, waiting for her two friends to come. After a few minuets of impatient foot tapping, she saw her two younger friends come up the path, Rena being able to make Keiichi carry the garbage bag. It was good to see the bag again, full of things to dress up Keiichi in. He always looked cute in those! 'Wait, what am I saying!' She thought, and mentally kicked herself.

Yeah, he was cute, but he thought of her more like a guy friend than a girl. She waved as if she didn't just have that thought. " Hey Rena! Hey Kei-chan!" The two other teens waved back at her.

"Hi Mii-chan!" Rena-smiled at her, and Keiichi just nodded. As he came

Mion clapped him on the shoulder.

"How does it feel to be a pirate?" It was a lighthearted joke and she saw him smile.

"Well, my dad keeps wanting me to learn sailing now!" They all laughed and went to school. The battle would ensue soon, and it would be fun.

#

Thanks for reading! Review time!

Sergeant Daniel- NO! This toaster oven makes all Higurashi characters live action! So use it wisely! That or I'll send my evil maggots of doom!

James Birdsong (2)- Thanks for both of those reviews! It's good to have dedicated readers!


	12. Chapter 12:Battle of the Lunches!

Hello! Thanks for reading! And enjoy!

Showdowns and Penalties

#

Mion let Rena pick the game, since she saved all the items Mion had wanted to throw out. They were seated in the normal way, Shion having to go to "work". Rena picked Old Maid, and they began to play, Mion, looking for the Old Maid, found she had 3 queens. She hid her poker face and put two queens down, hearts and diamonds. Keiichi, not having fully remembered the rips and tears, took her other Queen, leaving her with a 4 and a 7.

She played skillfully, and was the first one with no cards. Smiling, she waiting, watching at the queen got passed around while the cards dwindled, until Rena was stuck with the old maid. She pouted, clearly not pleased that this had to happen. Mion grinned evilly and pulled out a magic marker.

"Alright, pucker up and take it like a woman." When Mion was done with her handiwork, Rena had a crazy pattern coming out from the corners of her eyes, and a squiggly mustache painted across her upper lip. Mion, to further add to it, had added a unibrow. Everyone burst out into lighthearted laughter. Even Rena, the victim, had to laugh along. It was always fun, even when you lost. Well except for the maid uniform, but a different punishment once in a while was good. Collecting her things, Mion walked to the door with the older kids.

"Bye satoko, bye Rika, Bye Hanyuu." Smiling, she walked out the door to catch up with the other teens to a chorus of "Bye's!" There was light conversation the whole way home, mostly about Rena's new makeup. Suddenly Keiichi poked Mion in the back.

"Oi, Mion. It's your path." He pointed to the mill. She smiled at him, an evil twinkle in her eyes.

"Aye, Cap'in," She left down her path, smiling. Keiichi had turned beet red, and Rena giggled. They were so cute! Looking at his red-haired friend, keiichi started to run. "Oh, CRAP!"

"I'M TAKING YOU HOME WITH ME!" Rena ran after him at lighting fast speeds, dragging him by the ankle. He couldn't talk., as his head kept bashing into the dirt road until she picked him up over her head with great ease. He struggled until he was finally able to drop out of her death-like grip. He nearly bit his tongue when he hit the ground. Getting up, Rena had stopped, back to normal.

"Well, I need to go home!" She said, smiling, and walking off. Brushing himself off, keiichi noticed that his upper left arm hurt. 'Meh, not surprised if That'll bruise.' After getting the dust out of his shirt, he walked the rest of the way home, still reeling a bit form the speed of Rena.

When he got in there was a note on the counter. _Client wanted us to come to Tokyo for a few days to discuss a custom painting he wants. Lunches in the fridge, ramen noodles in there too. _

He sighed. Luckily Satoko had taught him how to make rice and a few side dishes, so his sodium levels shouldn't spike too much. However… He reached for the fire extinguisher. 'It's better to be safe than sorry.' Smiling, he ate one of the ramen cups as a snack. It was Miso flavored, and tasted delicious on his tongue. Pulling out his sheets of homework, he finished the math and Language packets quickly, taking only around half an hour.

Trying to find out what to do with the remaining time until dinner, a bad idea formed in his head. 'What if I tried making my own lunch?' Pulling out some ingredients from the fridge, he saw he could make Chuka bento, or Makunouchi. He decided to try Makunouchi, and started to cook the rice in the rice cooker. There was a lot of rice in the pot, and he decided to try and cook for the whole club.

Pulling out a knife and one of his mother's cookbooks, he started to slice the fish, a little bit uneven at first, but getting better. He put the fish to sizzle on a pan at the right back burner. It smelled good, and he got to work on the pickles, slicing them to add to the dish later. After about an hour of working, he found a few boxes and divided everything up, placing on the tops and wrapping them in cloth.

He placed them all in a few bags, and put them in the fridge. Walking to the phone, he called up all his friends, telling them of the lunch. Everyone laughed a little, and Mion said she'd bring an emergency lunch in case the food was poison in the food. He smiled, and said, "Alright, but my lunch is going to beat your lunch to the dust~"

He sang the last word, ready for the showdown of homemade lunches. Hanyuu nervously stuttered if there would be sweets, and Keiichi had to smile. He quickly pulled out a fourth box and a few instant jello packets, adding in a bit more sugar then recommended.

By the time he was done about 2 hours had passed, and smiling, he fixed himself another ramen cup for dinner. It tasted little bland to what he'd just tried to make, and he'd downed it in a few spoonfuls. Throwing the empty cup away, he sat in front of the T.V. and flicked it on. There was the news, and he decided to watch. _The Price Is right! Japan (1)_ was on. The man playing just won a car, and looked like he was about to have a heart attack. The prize was a truck, and a pretty new truck, about 1 model year old. He sighed, just watching as the wheel was spun and prizes were handed out.

He clicked off the T.V. after around 7 minuets and walked up to his bedroom, bat by the door. It was always boring when his energetic father and calm, collected mother weren't there. Changing to a White-Tee-shirt and boxers, he unrolled his futon and snuggled up under the blankets, turning his alarm clock up high. When that thing was full blast, the dead could wake up. He fell asleep, a kind where you don't dream, but feel very refreshed, until…

BEEP BEEP BEEP BE-PA BEEP BEEP BEEP **slam!** BEE-, Keiichi got up quickly, grabbed the bat, and started to beat the alarm clock until its parts were scattered around hid bedroom. Quickly getting up, he sighed. He'd set it an hour early by accident. So deciding to take his time, he showered for once, toweled his messy brown hair, and put on his school clothes.

Walking down to breakfast, he took one of the lunches his mom made him and ate that, since the one he'd tried to prepare was still in the fridge. It tasted good, bursting with flavor and filling his stomach. Washing out the lacquered box his mother preferred over the metal or plastic ones, he left it in the sink and grabbed the other lunches, the jello chilled and ready from the night before.

He waited at the crossroads for Rena, wondering how he would explain that his clock had decided to combust on itself, throw itself in a garbage bag, and put itself in the garbage. Rena came after 20 minuets of thinking and 12 half-baked ideas passed. "Morning Keiichi-kun! Do you have the lunches~" Keiichi proudly held up the bags. It was impossible for him to see them though, since he was wearing the eye-patch and they were on the left side of his body.

Rena's eyes lit up. "So CUTE! I WANT TO TAKE THEM HOME!" running at him at top speed, Keiichi quickly held them up out of her reach. She tripped on a rock and fell, whimpering like a kicked dog. "Keiichi-kun that hurt!"

He smirked. "Well, these lunches are for lunch. So you need to wait." Suddenly a familiar voice called out to them.

"Oi, Pirate and Kaii-mode, stop making us wait!" It was Mion, her twin next to her, waving one arm excitedly, a bag and her school bag in her other hand. A big grin was on her face, her trademark evil glint in her eyes. Keiichi knew his lunch could beat hers though. Walking to school they all laughed and giggled, but Shion had a smug look on her face.

No one knew why, but when she went to the clinic yesterday Irie said they'd finished the Syndrome's antidote, and so Satoshi would be out in around 3 weeks. The news made her giddy, and she couldn't wait to tell someone! But she had to keep it in so that they could surprise everyone when he woke up.

School passed by normally, and soon it was the battle of the lunches. Opening his dishes first, everyone say that there were a few mistakes but enough food to share, and edible, with jello for dessert too! Digging into the meal, it tasted fine, albeit a little burnt at the rice's bottom. But since most people LOVE crunchy rice it was fine. Shion, however, had to embarrass Keiichi. "Why Keiichi-kun, I never thought a man could cook so well! Maybe we ought to check if you'r-" Mion slapped her sister as Keiichi said something like sexual harassment.

Hanyuu had been giving the desert a hungry look, holding a spoon, and when she finally finished her part of the lunch she dove right at the jello. This was the first time she was ever aggressive with her friends. "ALL THIS JELLO IS MINE! MINE!" Her eyes turned red, and she quickly heaped the sugary dessert into her mouth. It was so sweet!

Deciding it was best to back off before the situation got dangerous, everyone looked at the lunch Mion had brung, not suffering the food poisoning as they thought they would have. It was a normal lunch, and since it had been an emergency thing, it wasn't really needed, and they shared it around class. After that school passed along until the end of the day, with Shion leaving faster than normal.

Mion liked how club was going. Rena had won, with Keiichi losing, so she chose the most revealing outfit they could find in the bag. Everyone laughed, and Mion wished she had a camera or Tomitake, but he was out of town. Ah well, she'd burn it to her memory. Rena had nearly snapped into cute mode, but Mion, satoko, and Rika held her down with  
>Keiichi running away.<p>

Placing the classroom back in order, everyone said their goodbyes and walked to their separate houses. While Mion talked to Keiichi about how cute he looked as a girl pirate, with Rena still wanting to take something home. After going their separate ways, the teens went to their houses.

Shion was there when her twin walked in the room, doing the homework they'd been assigned. She quickly pulled it out of her schoolbag and worked, not wanting to talk to Shion and disturbed her. She was ACCTUALLY working on schoolwork for once. The sheets were quite simple now that she was actually working on something related to school, and she finished them quickly, getting up for water. However, Shion was actually forming a plan to confess to Satoshi. She quickly placed the paper full of pencil tap-marks in her folder, deciding to work on it later.

When Mion came back from her water and snack break, her sister smiled at her. Just then it started to rain, a flash storm you don't notice until it comes. She shook her head. Those storms were to be expected in October, after how dry and hot the summer had been.

Right now, she felt tired from the cooking she'd done until a bit later than normal in the night. "Hey sis, I'm going to nap for a bit, wake \this old man up before dinner alright!" Her twin nodded in response, and Mion let her eyes shut.

#

In the dream her arms now had shackles on them, broken and heavy. They were the only things holding her back from completely healing, but the light and her friends were around her now, unable to see the shackles. It scared her a little, but the sight of her friends kept her from crying or having a panic attack.

#

Someone was shaking her awake. "Mion, it's time to get up!" Mion rubbed her eyes and remembered dinner, her stomach rumbling. Quickly smoothing out her skirt she followed her twin to the table, a little sleepy. She was able to wake up when she smelled the food though, the family gathered around.

Conversation was light and fun that day also, with everyone joking about the weather and recent events in Hinamizawa. It all seemed peaceful and fun until Ba-chan grabbed at her chest and fell. Everyone was dead silent.

#

SHOCKER! And I just decided to add that, and now I'll have to add like 5 to 10 more chapters to make the story flow! Thanks for reading! Now, for the clock, I was imitating what mine does.

Too bad I put it on the dresser at the other end of my room so I have to get up for school.

Note: (1) Was just something I made up to do something. It probably didn't exist.

Now review time!

James Birdsong- Thanks for liking the chapter!

AnimeCrazy195- Thanks, and I think I'm going to have to mess with her a bit more then.


	13. Chapter 13: Hot Chocolate

Hello! Thanks for reading! And I finally did half of my summer L.A. work! You know how boring it was? VERY BORING! Anyway, Read the story! And sorry fort he sudden plot twist, I needed it.

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The dinner had quickly been forgotten as everyone ran over to the family head, which seemed dead. Kasai pushed everyone out of the way and placed her on her back, telling someone to call Irie clinic. Mion's mother rushed away to the phone, tears poking at her eyes. Everyone got silent as Kasai checked for a pulse or a heartbeat. When he couldn't find one, he put his meaty hands on the old woman's frail chest and started to press, hands over each other in the center. After 30 repetitions he pinched her nose, opened her mouth, and blew. (Please note, you have to do this in CPR, it's not kissing!)

After about 3 repeats, the air deathly still, they heard the squeal of tires and the front door opening. Irie didn't even take off his shoes, as pleasantries were for when someone's life wasn't in danger. Kasai backed off, letting the pro go to work. Irie checked her pulse again, and asked when she collapsed. "Around 7:30," the Sonozaki Akane said. She was feeling sick and trying not to pass out. Mion and Shion looked on in shock as Irie shook his head slowly. Even though Shion hated her grandmother for sending her away, she collapsed crying. The old woman had had enough heart to spare her life when she was born, and now she was gone. There were a few crying, and some people sat stony faced and silent.

Mion felt lightheaded and sick, like when she'd slashed her wrist too much, and then everyone got to work. Since the two twins didn't know what to do, they stood in the corner as the process began. Akane went for some water and wet their grandmother's lips, and told the twins to get some white paper to cover the Kamidana, since they didn't want it to get impure. A few aunts went for a table and some a candle and some incest, as they couldn't find flowers in late October.

The house felt cold, and Akane walked over to Mion, holding her hand in the two of hers. "Mion, I need you to go contact Rika, schedule the wake. Then please help us with the cleaning." Mion, nodded, walking over to the phone. Irie was talking with Kasai, nodded about something, and left. Mion then picked up the chunky phone and dialed Rika's house, with a small, cheery voice picking up on the other end. "Moshi Moshi!" It was Satoko. Mion responded, then asked for Rika. When the happy eleven year olds voice came on the phone, Mion instantly went serious and snapped out of her daze, tears pricking.

"Rika," she stopped and sniffed for a second trying to choke out the words. Shion put a hand on her shoulder, holding back her own tears. "Ba-chan died. I need you to figure out the best day for," She had to take a deep breath, a lump in her throat, "for the wake and funeral." There was a yes from the other end, and some shuffling of papers. "Alright, November first is the best day for the wake, with the funeral on the second. And Mii-chan?"

"Yes?" The older girl asked, wondering what her friend wanted to say.

"I hope you feel better." Mion nodded, and hung up, wanting to cry or scream. Shion gave her a hug, and told her that they had to help clean. When they got back, Onibaba's body was covered with a sheet, a knife placed over the chest, not in. Their mother had rolled up her sleeves and was scrubbing with a few other women, stony silent. The servant's helped to, scrubbing one of the other hallways and the kitchen.

Mion walked over to where there was a pile of rags, the food on the table forgotten and cold now. She got Goosebumps as she scrubbed, back and forth, back and forth. Her arm warmers got wet with some on the soapy water, and her tears cleaned the floor too. Death was the worst impurity the house could suffer, and cleaning it thoroughly was a must. As she scrubbed, she could hear a few whispers going around, but ignored them, scrubbing until her body hurt.

A tap on her shoulder fin ally shook her out of her thoughts. "Onee, I think we ought to go clean our room." Mion nodded, taking a new rag, some cleaning supplies, and a few other times to their room. She set to work on the window she'd climbed out of so many times before, and felt sick. A part of her wanted to do that again, to get away from it all, but she had work to do. She scrubbed hard, wanting to wipe away all the bad thoughts and impurities that came with death.

Shion dusted the shelf where their manga were, seeing that her sister had a few Shojo hidden in the back. She smiled and placed them back in their spots, hoping they'd cleaned the room well enough to drive away the spirit. Both the girls felt sick, and went to where everyone did, not want to be alone. After around 3 hours, at 11, everyone said it was enough for the day and went to sleep, depressed. Mion had a different plan though.

To release some of the feelings that were surfacing, she waited until there was no sound and ran, grabbing 2 bottles of cheap wine instead of one and the painkillers. Taking the blade also, she climbed out the window, bulkier than usual, and sprinted to the clearing. More tears formed in her eyes as she undid the bottles with the blade, nicking her palm in the process. Placing a painkiller in her mouth, she started to drink the warm liquor, nearly chocking and almost throwing up. After she felt numbed she was only mad, and took a few sips of the second bottle when her stomach turned.

Placing it on the rock she heaved, all her feelings coming out with the vomit. Wiping her mouth, she looked at the blade, upset and sick now. Peeling off one of the gloves, she slashed, the cuts hurting in the 40-degree air. The more she did, the better she felt. After a while she stopped, looking at all the blood that flowed. She felt dizzy…so dizzy. Shaking her head she got scared. Leaving everything to grab later, she tried to stop the bleeding. The only things there were her two arm warmers, so she quickly tied them tightly over the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. She was feeling lightheaded and sick now, even worse than before. There were at least 30 new cuts, but some fin ally slowed down. She breathed a sigh of relief and tried to stand up from her squatting position, But she lost her vision, too spotty to do anything.

Stumbling like a drunk from the alcohol she'd consumed, Mion couldn't relax.

She'd seen someone die, and nearly killed herself all in the space of 4 hours. Gathering everything, she hid the empty bottle and stumbled down the familiar path until she hit her home, going to the bathroom.

There she found the gauze tape, and wrapped it tightly around her arm, over and over, until, she was unable to see her cuts anymore. Sighing, she was glad she was alive at least, but sadness held her chest. Taking one of the sleeping pills, the dream was back.

#

Sinking quickly, Mion looked around. The light was still there up top, but the blackness was engulfing her so fast she could barely scream. The shackles were back, rubbing harder and hurting like crazy. The darkness was robbing her of color again, and she woke up with a start.

#

She felt sick, and looked at her arm. She'd tried to stop hurting herself, and just when everything was going good. Quickly looking at the time, it was four in the morning. Getting up, she changed and did her normal routine. However, when she got to the kitchen, her mother was there too, and shot her a sad smile. "Couldn't sleep too?" Mion nodded, and sat at the table, when her mother suddenly got up.

"I think we could both use a drink." Mion paled. She guessed since she took the pain killer she wasn't hung over, but she had school. Luckily her mother put some milk on the stove and added chocolate chips. After around 5 minuets, she got 2 cups and poured the liquid in, stirring each cup a little more and setting one down in front of Mion, the other for herself. Staring at her daughter, She watched as she raised the cup to her mouth and drank some of the warm liquid. It was October 31st, and freezing out.

"It's tough, what happened yesterday." Mion nodded, trying not to think about it. It was making her throat close and swell with a lump. She stared at the half full cup, a hot liquid pricking at her eyes. There was a sound of someone getting up, fabric rustling, and a tight embrace. She hugged her mom, and just then Shion walked in the room, Looking at the display of affection.

She came over too, and hugged Mion. They both felt sick, with a lead weight in their stomachs. Her mother let the "Younger" twin slide in, and embraced them both. They all cried quietly for a while, and at 4:55, they let go, smiling and getting their tears in their mouths.

"Just remember, I love you both. Now I think it's time to eat, right?" The twins nodded in sync, and their mother grabbed some food to whip up a quick breakfast of rice and Miso. The crying had made Mion feel a little better, but she was still sad. It was always sad when someone died, even someone as rotten as her grandmother. After the Meal, Mion decided to be early and put on a jacket, since she'd be waiting a while and it was pretty cold.

But, as she stood by the mill waiting, she could feel the crushing weight once more grab at her chest, and she quickly crouched down and hugged herself. It hurt to breathe, and tears pricked at her eyes. She shook, and breathing became sobbing. She didn't hear the footsteps until someone touched her shoulders, fully crying now. Looking up, there was Rena; she quickly bent down, forgetting she was wearing a skirt.

"Mii-chan, are you okay?" She held her shoulders, looking into her eyes with concern painted across hers. Mion just hugged her, sobbing into the younger girls shoulder. Rena hugged her, patting her back. Since they were early they let her cry. After she'd calmed down enough Keiichi cleared his throat.

"Mion, Rika called us yesterday. Sorry." She just looked at them and rubbed her eyes.

"No it's fine, actually it's good. Now I don't have to tell you guys!" She smiled a watery smile, feeling sick.

"Well if you want to skip school-," Rena said, understanding that her friend was in pain. Mion shook her head no and got up, dusting off her skirt.

"I think I should go, but that was embarrassing." Getting her fallen book bag from the floor, she started to walk and turned around when she realized they weren't coming. "Am I going to school myself or what?" She smirked, and Rena and Keiichi followed. Really, they were wondering why Mion was trying to hard not to cry,

'She's probably just embarrassed she look like a girl.' Keiichi thought. 'Wait, what the heck am I thinking!' Kicking himself, he followed the two girls to the small school. Mion seemed fine at school, and when Shion came, they both seemed all right for what happened. The class was quiet though that day, and Mion said she had to go home for some family things. After she left Rena wondered aloud why she had to leave.

Shion stayed for a few minuets, although today was the day they were going to take Satoshi off the coma drugs. "Well, Mion's Heiress, as you know, so they're going to start to get her used to being head today. Mother's going to teach her how to run the family, albeit a little less harsh than Onibaba." Keiichi cringed. If the club leader turned into someone like that, well, Hokkaido seems like a nice place to live.

Anyway, I got to go." Shion stated, smiling to herself. Running off, she felt a little guilty for not telling Satoko about her Nii-Nii, but Irie said to hold the information until Satoshi was up to speed on everything. 'At least he won't have to wake up to Onibaba,' she laughed, but hen felt bad. But at least less people would hate him. This thought made her run to the clinic, Irie waiting just inside.

#

Hope you enjoyed. And you didn't expect the old bat to die, right? And please note, their doing traditional funeral customs, and these are real things done at funerals in Japan. I went for both Buddhist and Shinto, since I'm not sure what the Sonozaki practice. Well, this sunday is camp and I won't be able to do any writing until I get back in 2 weeks, but I'll be having fun!

Review time!

AnimeCrazy195-Thanks, and stuff must happen for stuff to be interesting right?

Sergeant Daniel (2)-Thanks for those reviews! And yes, Real life Keiichi-Mion must happen! IT MUST! And too bad she can't be okay.

James Birdsong- Whoops, thanks for pointing that out, although I don't really like to fix stuff like that.

See ya in 2!


	14. Chapter 14: Furenal

Hello and thanks for waiting~! Sorry for the delay, I had a power out for 3 days. So any who, on with the story.

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"Alright Mion, now if you ever need help, just tell me and I'll help settle the matter." Mion smiled and hugged her mother.

"Thanks." Her mother ran a hand on the top of her hair like she did when she was small. It brought back good memories that made Mion feel a little better, until the phone rang. Getting up, she walked over and picked. "Moshi, Moshi." There was Irie's voice on the other end, telling her something that made her puzzled.

"Come to the clinic, there's someone I want you to meet." Mion quickly hung up, and after telling her mother, she hopped on her bike, riding in the chilly October air, wondering who was at the clinic she knew everyone in the town, until, rounding the corner she heard satoko cry out.

"NII-NIIIIII!" The sight she saw burned itself into her memories and made her feel like she intruded on a very personal moment. There was an old friend from her memories, one that disappeared over a year ago. Satoshi Hojo, hugging his little sister Satoko with Shion looking on. After about two minuets the crunching of 2 pairs of feet stopped next to her. Keiichi and Rena.

Satoshi looked over at the rest of the group, and his eyes locked on Keiichi, sizing him up. After glancing to Mion, she shot her a smile. "Hey guys, long time no see?" Walking over and satoko climbed on his shoulders like a monkey, she stuck out a hand to Keiichi.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Satoshi Hojo." Keiichi took his hand and shook it.

"Maebara Keiichi, nice to meet you." After a while of chatting and explaining, they went in the clinic, and Shion pulled a cake from behind the counter, smiling. Opening the small box, the cake had green frosting, and written in yellow, "Welcome back." Satoshi and Satoko seemed puzzled, and at the same time, said

"Why did you put green words on yellow frosting?" Everyone else laughed, except Keiichi, who was thoroughly puzzled.

"Wait, it's yellow frosting on green! What's his problem?" Satoko looked at him.

"Nii-Nii's colorblind like me Keiichi. So it's hard to tell." Keiichi nodded, having forgotten of his friends Handicap. After enjoying the cake everyone got him up to speed, joking and laughing all the while. When they finally checked the time, it was seven o' clock, and everyone packed up, Rika and Hanyuu had been cleaning out the Furude Shrine, and they had been unable to reach them.

But walking home with Shion, something she said made her sick she forgot it. "At least Onibaba's not around to bother him. Too bad the funeral's tomorrow." Mion mentally wanted to cut herself over and over for forgetting. As she got back to the house the servants had helped everyone finish cleaning, the mood melancholy. Mion walked to her room and laid on her bed, Shion needing to go talk to their mother about something, wasn't there.

After a few minuets, she got up and did her homework. Since there weren't many problems, she was quickly done, but there was something sick twisting in her stomach when she saw Shion walk in. There was a small look of sacredness in her eyes, yet she walked over to Mion and quickly got on her knees, bowing as low as possible. "Onee-sama, I would like to ask your permission to confess to Satoshi Hojo."

Mion smiled and hugged her sister. "Why do need my permission! Go ahead!" Shion smiled, relived at her sister's answer.

"And remember, he must be fully blind if he turns someone like you down." After chatting for a while Mion felt better, and turned back to her homework, finishing the rest of the math. Placing the packets in her backpack, she went to the bookshelf and pulled out a Shojo manga, Reading the small books cruddy plot. Normally she'd poke fun at them, but even her sisters upcoming confession couldn't stop her from feeling sick about the funeral.

Putting it back, she had to go to the bathroom. Taking care of that business, she took off her arm warmers to wash her hands. But reaching for the left one, she stopped. 'I don't have any white ones.' Remembering how old-fashioned Onibaba was, everyone was going to wear white instead of the more modern black kimono and suits. Finished with that small business, Mion grabbed some money and walked to her mother.

"Mom I need to grab something from Okinomiya, I'll be back at dinner."

"Alright just be safe!" A voice called, and Mion quickly grabbed her bike, making haste to the large, windy road that led to the small city. After going back to the glove store, she bought a pair of plain white cotton ones, paying the 750-yen for them and biking back home, which took a little longer since it was uphill. After opening the door, she took off her shoes and walked to the dining hall, where nearly everyone was except for herself. Everyone had been making light chatter, a few of the older people already having a beer or two.

When she got settled in her chair the food was served, and it felt kind of odd to be at the head of the table. It was just a reminder she was head of the Sonozaki family, and that now she was in control of immense power in Hinamizawa. It kind of was scary, and she was quiet, barely eating her food and mulling in her thoughts. When she was done she felt sick and waited for everyone to go to bed, wishing for time to speed up. As soon at Shion was asleep she pulled the bottle, pills, and blade form their familiar hiding place in the floor, and slipped out the window.

She felt the depression grab at her as she held the bottle, and opened up the cap. Something in her mind, a small voice of reason, told her to stop it, she was killing herself. But she popped the pill and took another swig, and the voice was silenced. Her stomach churned in resistance, her throat burned; yet she took a few more long swigs.

Looking at the blade encrusted in dried blood, her blood, she felt sick. She wanted to stop scarring, but it was the only way to release the stress that was building up, the anguish, and the pain. As she slowly opened it, trying to delay, little flecks rubbed off and fell on the ground, which had an odd brown stain from the all the blood. She shivered, as it was at the most forty degrees out. Butting the blade back, she realized that there was a bad smell coming from the area, metallic and sickening. Wan ting to leave, she stumbled home, and clumsily climbed in the window, sleeping it off.

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In the dream she was falling, but fighting. Lashing out, she struggled more and more, and her ankles were now bleeding and sore. She kept at it though, getting dragged faster and faster into the abyss as she struggled to go up. 'Stop it!' Kept repeating in her head.

Mion woke up in a cold sweat; seeing that the time was 5:2 0 A.M. Getting up and brushing her hair, she remembered today was November 1st. Going to the kitchen in her pajama's, a small headache form the alcohol the only remnant of last night. Cooking a pot of rice, as the servants haven't gotten up yet, she ate only a small amount and left the rest for anyone else who wanted to eat.

Going back upstairs, Shion stirred, and opened her similar turquoise eyes, staring at her sister pull out two matching white kimono, and digging in the back for two white ribbon's for sashes. Walking out of the room, Shion put on the other Kimono left for her, feeling a little guilty for wishing the old woman dead. Going downstairs, she saw her sister had already made some rice, and grabbed a bowl for herself.

Going back, her sister's hair was in it's normal ponytail, and she was just putting on her gloves. Shoving them on as fast as possible, Shion could've sworn she saw little red marks all over. Rubbing it off as imagination, she walked to he book shelf and pulled out a murder mystery book. They sat in silence for a while, until their mother walked into the room, her kimono replaced with a similar white one. It was seven A.M.

"Girls, The wake is going to start later. Why don't you two wear normal clothes for now?" Mion nodded and changed back into jeans and a t-shirt, throwing on the sweater since it was a chill spell. She was getting upset, and realized something. The little floorboard was opened just a bit, but if you weren't looking you could trip on the hole in the floor. Since her sister was busy reading, she quietly shut it, cursing her drunken state last night all the while.

After a few more hours and lunch, Mion once again put on the kimono and felt sick. She never was on good terms with her grandmother, but the woman had spared her life also. Walking to her mother, she smiled a blank smile at her and hugged her. Her father, who's been away on business, was just pulling up to the estate at the time, rushing when he heard of the death.

After getting in the door, he saw his "Older," daughter and wife hugging, and quickly came over while Mion gave him one too. Her mother then gave her father q kiss on the cheek, and Shion came downstairs. Her father loved both the girls the same, and quickly gave Shion a hug too.

They waited, swapping a few stories about Batcha until it was time. They'd had the body moved and set up when Mion had fallen asleep, so as they greeted everyone who came she felt flooded with emotion. Even though Batcha was kind of a demon, she also did many good things for the village, which caused some amazing changes.

'Like Keiichi,' Mion thought. There were many of the traditional condolence money envelopes, yet she didn't really care what they were filled with. After about 17 minuets of greeting guests she saw the Maebara's come, and as Keiichi passed by her to get in the house he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. It made her heart skip a beat, then run around screaming bloody murder in her chest. Luckily she didn't blush, but her mother shot her a knowing look.

As the ceremony went on, it had been done in side due to the chill. Burning the incense 3 times, Mion took her seat with her family as the room filled with the burning smell, reminiscing at the alter with flowers in front of her. When it was over her mother sat vigil while the rest of the guests began to leave, some chatting with her or offering support.

At one point keiichi came over, wearing a white kimono he probably got from his dad, since it was big on him. "Hey Mion, just tell me if you need to talk okay?" She nodded, and he quickly walked away to catch up to his family. He hadn't tried any of his word magic on her, which made her smile. He'd been short and to the point this time, and so she quickly went to her room, where Shion hadn't come up yet. When she did, there was a tint of red to her face, and she was completely incoherent when she tried to tell her twin something.

"Shion, calm down, or I'm going to hit you with one of your collectable action figures!" She finally took a few deep breath, than nearly whisper screamed,

"He pat my head again!" Mion smacked her sister with a pillow.

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Went fishing, and somehow caught a freaking seagull! It's happened before, and in hindsight, is kinda funny. Any who, read and review~! Also I know, fail funeral is fail. But I got most of my info from Wikipedia, so it's short. Don't worry, there's more fluff where that hint came from!


	15. Chapter 15: Discovery

Hello and thanks for all you faithful readers! Well, schools starting soon, and now I'm sad. Any who, on with the story!

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Mion was better in school, and 2 days after Shion told Mion about the little head pat, she'd dragged Satoshi out into the hallway for a second to ask a question. Satoko smiled devilishly and tapped her fingers on the desk impatiently, waiting for her Nii-Nii's reply. When they stepped back in the room, Shion was smiling brightly while holding Satoshi's hand, and the boy seemed a bit embarrassed, but relived. Mion wolf whistled, and the blonde boy's blush only deepened. Satoko ran over, exclaiming, "I'm so proud of you Nee-Nee!

"Wait? Nee-Nee?" Satoshi looked from Shion to his little sister, then back to his girlfriend.

"Well, Satoko started to think of me as an older sister, and so she started to call me that and it kind of-" she let the sentence trail off, feeling like a fool. He probably thought it was stupid! When Shion mustered up the courage to look at him, he pats her head. "Well Nee-Nee, we'd better sit down before Chie-sensei comes in." She nodded, and then nearly floated to little table she called her desk. Mion did the thumbs up sign to her twin, her gloves still on and covering her scarred wrists.

Mion was trying to suppress the demons that were haunting her to the back of her mind, and after chatting with all her friends she went back to her studies, finishing earlier than everyone but Keiichi. Leaning back in her chair with her arms behind her head, she didn't realize that her arm warmers had slid towards her wrist by a half inch. Rena could see the cuts from her angle, but didn't want to cause a scene. 'Maybe I ought to confront her after school? I wonder, I wonder.' Finishing the workbook worriedly, Rena glanced at everyone else at the table. Most of them were trying to finish their books, so they didn't notice her sleeves. However, Keiichi was done, and looked over at Mion too. But from his angle, he couldn't see her arms past the unscarred parts, so giving a small smile to himself; he put his head on the desk and got a small rest.

However, he was jealous of Satoshi. The guy had known the twins for a long time, so maybe they had a better bond? He wasn't really sure, but it was making him sick in the stomach. However, he banished those thoughts. 'Mion didn't seem as elated as Shion, so there's nothing to worry about.' He felt better about that.

After a while everyone was dismissed, and Mion slammed a pile of cards down on the table.

"Alright, Old maid meets truth or dare in…" She spun around in a dramatic circle, finger in the air, "MION'S ULTRA SPECIAL CLUB ACTIVITY!" She then pulled out a very revealing maid costume. "And remember, if any of you can make me lose, I'll even take off my gloves." Mion felt confident she would win, unless… when she saw the faces everyone was making, she knew she'd regret this very fast. Suddenly Rika smiled and ran to the window.

"Guys! It's snowing!" Everyone ran over, and Mion quickly added a pair of white long-sleeved gloves to the ensemble when their backs were turned. As soon as they turned around she shuffled the cards with the skill of a true gambler, and handed them out neatly to everyone. However, as the game progressed and cards were lost, Mion realized she was stuck with the old maid, and that she was going to lose no matter what. A stone formed in her stomach, even though she'd hidden gloves in the outfit, she still felt a dread.

Just then the final dare was done, and the pairs were gone. "Mion loses! Mion loses! Now will she wear the outfit? I wonder, I wonder…" Mion nodded, and ran to the bathroom with the outfit. However, in her haste, the gloves fell on the floor. Smiling evilly, Shion stuck them back in twin's locker, for once not being killed by a mountain of costumes and markers.

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When Mion finished tying the sash on the back and setting the headband on, she realized that the gloves weren't there. 'Maybe if I keep my arms at my sides they won't see the cuts?' However, it was in vain, as she could still see most of them poking out, like jeering fingers. Placing her gloves back on, she walked back to the classroom, feeling like she'd just taken a huge swig of that cheap wine. Her stomach was in knots, and she had to keep swallowing to keep bile out of her throat.

"I'm BACK!" She said, faking a very convincing smile. Only her twin could see through it, but she decided not to say anything while sitting next to her new boyfriend. However, Hanyuu ran away screaming as Keiichi grew and evil smile. Hiding behind Rika, she kept saying, "Au" and shaking.

"Mion, remember," he said devilishly. "You have to take off the gloves too. That, or you have broken a club rule." He knew something was up when she paled. Suddenly she dashed for her back, but before she could reach the door, he had her wrist in his arm, and Rena was coming over to help in the kill. Mion felt like a cornered animal, wanting to lash out to protect herself.

"Just let go," She muttered darkly, and pulled her wrist. However, the glove slipped off, and the group, who'd been watching in earnest, let out a collective gasp.  
>There were at least a hundred scars marred up and down her wrists to her elbows, some fresh and some a pale white. They were overlapping and crossing, each screaming for the attention of the groups eyes. Mion only looked in horror, and Keiichi could barely believe his eyes.<p>

Rena was the first to speak. "Mii-chan?" Mion ripped her arm out of her friends grasp and ran for dear life, dropping her backpack along the way to really get her legs going. 'Now they now!' Repeated in her mind endlessly, mocking her. Back at the classroom, Shion was the first to react.

"Onee!" Dashing out of the room, the rest of the class followed in pursuit. However, Mion had a head start, and when she was desperate, she was FAST. Reaching the safety of her house, she quick and quiet, grabbing the things from her room and leaving as fast as lighting. There was half a bottle of wine left, and her bloodstained cutter was in her other hand. Hopping out of the house, she realized it was snowing harder, and that made her smile. 'It'll cover my footprints.' She was cold in that maid uniform, but that didn't matter to her, as ling as she got away.

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When they got to the house, the girl's mother was coming out, a questioning look on her face. "Why did Mion run out of the house a few minuets ago?" Shion quickly blurted as much of the story as she knew, and her mother nodded.

"I'll contact the police, try to find your sister before…" Shion nodded in understanding and turned to the group. "Keiichi, Satoshi, Rena, you look by the old dam sight, Satoko, Hanyuu, Rika and I will go the other way. If you find her, try to get her home." She left off the word '_alive,' _because she didn't want to focus too much on that.

Keiichi nodded and walked away with the older kids, as Shion noticed a one pair of footprints quickly fading in the falling snow. "Guys Wait!" The small group of older teens looked back at where she was pointing. Following to the side of the footprints, they were fading fast, causing their footsteps to quicken. Snow was soaking their shoes, and none of them had time to put on a jacket. So, worrying after 5 minuets with no luck, Keiichi decided to run.

"Au~! Keiichi, where are you going!" Hanyuu looked utterly confused as why her friend wanted to leave the group.

"The footprints are fading, if I follow them I can leave fresh ones." Satoshi and Shion nodded, but everyone else was puzzled.

"Why would he do that? I wonder, I wonder?" Shion looked at the group, and the figurative light bulb went off over everyone's heads. "Oh," Rena said, and they quickly hurried to follow Keiichi's footsteps.

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Mion was at the clearing, and barely thinking and quick as lightning, she popped off the top of the wine and chugged the rest, nearly vomiting as she did so. Her throat and mouth burned with the bitter taste, and she opened the razor, a few patches of dried blood flaking off as she did so.

Holding her exposed wrist out, she quickly started slashing, ignoring the stinging feeling as the cold piece of metal dug deeper and deeper into her flesh. She smiled insanely, crying as she let her blood flow. After only a few seconds of the entire cutting, her vision grew spotty, and she collapsed, smiling. 'I don't have to deal wi-' everything went black, and she couldn't think anymore.

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When Keiichi followed the footprints to a clearing, he stopped. There was Mion, with her wrists sliced open. The snow was a dark red, pinkish at the edges, with a small blade nearby. The hairs on his neck stood on end, and as he walked closer he saw a forgotten bottle of wine and a cutter, covered in blood. Suddenly he snapped out of his trance, and running over, he put a hand to her throat. Her pulse was slow and irregular, as if her heart was barely able to move.

'What do I do!'? Ran through his mind over and over, until he remembered he wears to layers of clothes. Pulling off his white t-shirt, he wrapped it around her arm tightly and tied a knot to secure his shirt to her wrist. Picking her up, he decided Irie's clinic would be best, considering the amount of blood she'd lost. As she hung over his shoulder like a rag doll, he trudged through the deepening snow as fast as possible.

"Please be okay," he whispered silently over and over. After what seemed an eternity of walking, he could finally see the clinic. "Please be all right!"

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Thanks for reading! Now review time!

Crimso- Well, your almost right, but actually the one who's jealous is… you saw in this chapter. And sorry for the time skips.

Sergeant Daniel- Yeah, well, I'M BACKKK!

**Blank**- DAMNIT! HOW COULD I DO THAT! Now I can't stop laughing. It was supposed to be incense. CURSE YOU SPELLCHECK!

Yaoi-kawaii123- Man! I haven't really seen Umineko, so I'm not positive on what it is.


	16. Chapter 16: Confession and Trust

HEY GUYS! So, now you're wondering what happening to Mion, and in fact, **Censored.** So now that you know most of the plot, I hope you enjoy reading this part! (You are so confused by the censor.)

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Mion was falling, the blackness now engulfing her and erasing her fully. 'Well, I guess I deserve this.' She willingly continued to sink, not even dreading her inevitable death. However, as she was engulfed, she heard a beeping sound. It was faint at first, but kept getting louder and louder, until she realized how heavy her eyelids felt. Fluttering them open, she saw an expanse of white. 'Is this the afterlife?' Then she saw the nurse Takano, who worked as an assistant at the clinic. (NOT EVIL AT ALL HERE!)

"Wh-" Suddenly she looked over, noticing the green haired girl.

"Ah, you're awake. That's good." She smiled warmly and wrote on her clipboard. "I'll call Irie and-"

"What happened when I was out?" Mion asked. She could not remember for the life of her what happened.

"Well, you had bad cuts across your arms and were unconscious when Maebara brought you in-"

"Keiichi?" Shock and disbelief were written across her face. She got scared, wondering what he thought of her now. She had her biggest secret, besides the switch, exposed, and he'd carried her all the way here. Dread filled her. Now they'd ask questions, and they'd find out about the drugs.

'Will they arrest me, or lock me up in the Loony Bin?' She silently panicked, her mind growing more and more agitated as her thoughts raced around, scrambling for attention and answers. Her heart rate increased, and Takano's eyes furrowed in worry.

Briskly walking out of the room, she called Irie in, who smiled warmly at the Sonozaki twin before giving her sedatives, causing her to panic even more. 'No, I don't want to go back to that darkness. She struggled, moving the IV in her hand painfully before the doctor and nurse restrained her, the drugs taking over her mind.

#

Back in the darkness, she was fighting agenst her rusted chains, wishing she could leave them behind. But that meant facing her problem, and she felt like she didn't have the energy to deal with all the hate she knew she deserved. 'Do I want to live, or do I want to die? I DON"T KNOW!' After a while she heard someone softly calling out her name, and she opened her eyes again, glad from the escape.

From the frying pan into the fire, as they say though. All her friends and her twin were there; giving her a look she couldn't quite place. To her they looked angry, as if they were going to just tell her she wasn't their friend anymore and leave, like in a Shojo Manga she'd swiped from her sister a few months back. However, Shion's eyes were wet with tears. Mion's eyes widened and she looked scared and nervous, dart around and looking at everyone.

"ONEE!" Hugging her, Mion looked confused. Keiichi cleared his throat and for attention as Shion hugged her sister, nearly squeezing the life out of her.

"Mion, you scared the living daylights out of everyone. Why can't you tell us what's wrong? You can tell us." Mion shook her head and curled her knees up to her chest, covering her ears and shaking her head.

"NO! I CAN'T TELL YOU! YOU'D HATE ME! NO!" She was shaking and screaming, repeating the mantra over and over until Keiichi gabbed her by the wrist causing her to jerk away and hold it close to her body, shaking her head and crying.

Getting closer to her, Keiichi saw her try to make herself even smaller. Opening up his arms, he gave her a hug and she struggled, trying to worm out of his grasp. However, he kept a tight hold on her, and she finally relaxed a little.

"Can you at least tell us what made you get in the hospital?" Shion asked, worry flooding her voice. Mion, seeing that the look was of concern, mentally prepared herself as she said the sentence. She looked down, averting their gazes.

"I've been doing drugs." A gasp came out of Rika, who thought it was crack or marijuana.

Mion, still averting her gaze, said, "It's alright. Just go ahead and say it. You hate me now and wish I hadn't been friends with you." After a few minuets of silence, Hanyuu spoke up.

"Au Au, we could never hate you Mion. You're the one who made us all friends!" There was a chorus of nodding and agreeing. Mion smiled, but only for a second before her face fell. Her voice was now only a tone above a whisper.

"I don't think I can stop hurting myself. I feel like I just can't be forgiven for what I did, and what I wished on Batcha." Rena, trying to cheer up Mion, walked over and joined the hug.

"Mii-chan, remember this. Even if you can't forgive yourself, we forgive you." There was a collected silence among the group, louder than words. Satoko, stepping forward, joined the hug. Satoshi, Rika and Hanyuu followed, until the whole club had her in hug.

"And don't worry, we're going to help." Rena said. "All of us."

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Thanks for enjoying this chapter. And as you know, I've hit the climax. (And yes, it was short and sweet. ON TO FLUFF!) Now it's time for recovery. Also, on my end, I got 2 new dolls added to my collection! One is a hand painted Matryoshka, with fairytale scenes painted on each doll. Another is a Japanese geisha in a special glass case, and she appears to be dancing. Now, reviews!

Anime Crazy-You were correct, here's a toaster.

Sergeant Daniel- don't worry, I tried.


	17. Chapter 17: Feelings

Hello! Thanks for all the positive feedback I've been getting on this story! So please enjoy!

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After a few moments the group broke up, and Rena volunteered to go get Mion's mother. Her face paled, but when her mother came in, after getting the information from Rena, she ran over to Mion. Mion steeled herself, but instead of scolding, Mion got a hug.

"I'm sorry Mion." Her mother was crying a little, and Mion hugged her mother back, glad she wasn't hated by her. After their little hug fest, her mother sternly looked at her.

"Mion, I want the truth, and nothing but the truth. You need help, and I can get you it." Mion slowly nodded, and sucking in a deep breath, began to tell of her depression.

"Well, it started when batcha ordered us to shut down the club. I got upset, angry and confused, and decided to say hello to Oishi. However, he was apprehending a criminal, and the guy dropped something called ecstasy. I took it, and felt better. However, when I was done getting high, I'd crash, and it became a vicious circle. Then I got even more depressed and took alcohol and painkillers. After a while it got hard to feel pain, so I began cutting, but I didn't want people to find out and-" everything she did was crashing around her now, showing her that her one big mistake made her end up in a hospital, needing a blood transfusion.

Her mother nodded, and gave hr another hug. "Don't worry, we'll try to help you." Mion nodded, and Irie came in.

"Mion, it seems you can get out in a few days. Just remember not to exert yourself yet, you have lost a lot of blood." She nodded, and Irie left the room to go talk to Takano about something. After that Satoko broke the ice and they began chatting and laughing like old times.  
>Mion was feeling better now, and when it was time for everyone to leave she gave them all a hug. "And remember, when I get out we're having a snowball fight!" Everyone laughed and cheered, but as they walked out to their respective destinations, Keiichi lingered.<p>

"Uh, Mion?" The green haired girl looked at her friend.

"Yeah Keii-chan?"

"I'll, uh, tell you when you get out." Mion smiled and nodded, before closing her eyes, tired from the day's activities. She hadn't seen Keiichi turn red in the face, but as he left he mentally kicked himself.

'Come on Keiichi! You're a man! Why can't you just tell her you like her! You had the guts to walk around town in a maid costume, this should be simple!' when he got home, he was still kicking himself. Luckily his dad and mom were out of town for yet another art thing.

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After a week, Mion was discharged and glad to be out. It got boring, lying in a bed, recovering. However, while all her friends knew about the situation with her arms, she didn't feel comfortable taking off her gloves yet, even around her family. It was embarrassing and scary for her, because she didn't want to deal with the staring at her stitches and scars.

When she got back to school after another day of recovery, there was a LARGE stack of work to do. So pulling off the top math book, she began to crunch all the numbers, trying not to make any mistakes. Her friends, seeing that she wasn't comfortable talking about her arms and pills yet, distracted her with other fun things, like doodling on keiichi's face when he fell asleep after a hard test, or making Satoshi wear a tiara for a whole day. Her life was getting better now, but she still had those moments. 'What if I had done that and died?' plagued her in her sleep. However, she was done with all those thoughts.

#

Keiichi still hadn't gotten the nerve to say hid feelings, which had been growing, until one day Mion cornered him. It was two weeks after she'd been discharged, and she was now back to normal. Everyone else was getting ready in the snow; While Shion took her boyfriend to go get himself checked for the syndrome at the hospital, just to make sure t wouldn't come back.

Trying to suave about it, Mion slid next to keiichi as he tied his shoes. "So Keii-chan, what is it you wanted to tell me at the hospital. Rena, overhearing looked over and stared intently while trying to look busy.

Well, I, uh. I-I-I-I-" Mion looked puzzled as he stuttered for another 2 and a half minuets. Finally, he said it all in a rush. "Ilikeyou!" Mion look generally confused for a few moments, processing what he just said. When she finally did, she turned a tomato red.

"I like you too." She said, looking away. She fingered her gloves nervously, and jumped 3 feet in the air when Rena scaremed,

"!" The snoball war was canceled after they had to get a crowbar and a teddy bear to save Mion and Keiichi.

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Hello! Thanks for all that positive feedback. Also, when I finish this story, would you like me to post the final chapter as how this ficlet idea came in my head? Also, I don't know why, but I just couldn't think of anything else to add, so this fic is done! (Except for my special.) REVIEW TIME!

AnimeCrazy195- Don't worry, she's all right now!


	18. Chapter 18: Behind The Scenes How I did

Hello! I'm glad you all enjoyed Pills! Now, here's the story of how it all began!

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Well, when I first joined this site as a member, I read 'The Green-eyed Demon," and "Redemption," (CHECK 'EM OUT! They're AWESOME!) and felt like maybe I could have a go at writing a long-KeiichixMion. So, when looking for materials, I remembered a family member of mine had a drinking problem before I was born. So, that sparked an idea that I kept editing and changing in my head. First, I had to decide what drugs to use, a creative title, and all that Jazz.

So, after many run-throughs, I started to type. Now, I knew I was dealing with some very touchy subjects, so I had to prepare myself incase I got comments like, "What's your problem?" "Did you do those personally?" "Why drugs?"

Also, as the story progressed and I hit the alcohol and painkillers section, I had to ask around. My dad was helpful and TOLD me how when you drink a cheap wine like Mion's, it burns a little in your mouth. I also asked if downing a bunch of painkillers over time could numb your nerves, but we weren't sure.

So, I took a creative liberty. Also, I never cut, so I had to just imagine a scrtachs pain intensified by hurt and rage, which gave me a good basis to go on. So, after a few months of labor and a whole lot of going over scenes with Hotaru, Pills is done! I may rewrite a few chapters at a much later date, but I have other stories I'd like to work on now.

THANK YOU FOR ENJOYING THE STORY AS MUCH AS I DID WRITING IT!

#Thank you for enjoying this story as much as I did!

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Final stats:

Name: Pills

Chapters: 18

Words: Around 30,000

Pairing(s): KeiiMii and SatoShion

Published on: 7/22/11

Finished on: 9/24/11

Once again, I'm glad you enjoyed.


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